The Mocha Mixup
by Retsina
Summary: College demanded caffeine and Axel lived for the bliss in a blender that was his morning mocha. How dare a strange student in neon-green pants try to take that away from him?
1. Chapter 1: WARNING: Radioactive Pants

CHAPTER 1: WARNING: Radioactive pants ahead

I stared. I couldn't control myself. I mean, the kid was wearing the most obnoxious bright neon green pants, complete with black pinstripes and a few silver chains descending from his waistline here and there. To make matters worse (as if he didn't stand out enough!), the pants were tight. Too tight. I openly, unabashedly stared as he ordered whatever from the barista. What possessed him to walk into the neighborhood corner Starbucks, right across the street from the university campus, wearing this latest fashion travesty? There were senior citizens here! Had he no shame?!

Ok, maybe that was a little uncalled for. So, yeah, my own jeans were a little tight. I mean, they don't call them skinny for nothing! At least mine weren't so obnoxiously bright they could be used to guide incoming aircraft. I was wearing perfectly-fitting, clean-cut black jeans. And damn did they look good on me. If I weren't me, I would be staring at myself instead of that kid in the bright pants. Hell, why wasn't I staring at myself?

As I stole a quick look down at my long legs and ran a hand through my gorgeous, perfectly spiked fire-red hair (I know, I can be a little conceited sometimes), smiling contentedly at how well my pants fit, I heard the barista announce "Venti Mocha Frappuccino, extra shot of expresso!" I shot to attention, ready to claim my drink (finally!) and get the hell away from the neon freakshow, and reached my hand out with the full intention of grabbing that baby and enjoying every last sip of my five damn dollar gift from God, bliss from a blender, when another hand touched my fucking mocha.

"Excuse me?" I spluttered as we simultaneously seized the heavenly portion of chocolatey espresso paradise (my LIFELINE, because let me tell you the only reason I got up in the morning was to drink this little cup of sinful liquid decadence), my fingertips brushing those of the little blonde thief who STOLE – eh?

I found myself looking down at the culprit. I couldn't say another word as the shorter male looked up at me with an emotionless expression on his face. I could feel his icy blue (and damn were they blue!) eyes burning into my dazzling green ones and I could only glare at him fiercely, hoping I could get the message across with a particularly nasty facial expression as I thought randomly to myself, he should be wearing bright blue pants.

"Excuse me but there must be some mistake. This is my drink." I explained, finally regaining my voice after the shock that he would dare make eye contact with me after infringing upon my personal mocha space, as I nodded towards the blended drink sitting on the pickup counter that we were both still clutching (if his hand warmth melted my frappuccino he would die).

He looked at me coldly and stated bluntly, "I just ordered a venti mocha frappuccino, no whip, extra shot of espresso. You told the barista that you wanted extra whipped cream. This mocha has none."

My blood boiled and I just wanted to smack this kid. Damn him and his so-called observations. Smart aleck. Who the hell did he think he was? Of course I didn't order whipped…shit. The kid (well, kid was probably not the right word. He looked about my age.) was right "Dammit, " I swore, "But I ordered first! Where's my MOCHA?!" I slammed my fist on the counter, looking around wildly. For the first time since ordering, I actually glanced at the pickup counter and cringed in palpable humiliation. There was a second, identical (except for the gigantic mound of whipped cream at the top. I would have to tip the barista extra next time!) drink about a foot away. Fuck. How did I miss that?

"Your drink must be that one over there. I guess you weren't… paying attention," the kid smirked slightly, glanced straight into my eyes, claimed the mocha which I had the good sense to relinquish, turned around and started walking out the door. I flushed from embarrassment when I realized that he knew I had been staring. Ugh. That little-

"Hey," I growled and he twirled around abruptly to face me, "Who the-" I stopped there, knowing that if I continued speaking a stream of choice obscenities would flow from my mouth, and I'm pretty sure I didn't want to aggravate this kid. I mean, he seemed more than a little psychotic (ok so maybe I was stereotyping him there, but good GOD those pants just screamed I am an emotionally insecure who-am-I why–am-I-here darling little bundle of teen angst and I am ready to validate my existence on your ass, bitch) and I really didn't want him poisoning my mocha next time we happened to run into each other at Starbucks. Though, I was a bit curious about him. So, I decided to just be the better person (I am awesome, after all) and let it go. I mumbled gruffly, "Sorry about that. Umm, nice pants." It killed me to admit that, let me tell you. I compliment no one (except myself. Hellooo, if your derriere looked this good in these pants then you would totally compliment yourself, too). It took IMMENSE effort and self control to speak those words.

His striking blue eyes met mine again and we held eye contact for a few seconds as he hesitated. I saw a shift in his blank expression as he contemplated how to react to my unexpected flattery. Looking at me with a question I didn't understand, he simply stated "…Thanks." With that comment, he took a sip of his mocha and exited the little coffee shop.

I felt like he had stomped all over my dignity. Nobody tells Axel where his mocha's at. Axel is intimately connected with his daily mocha and does not need you to clarify its precise location, because Axel has venti mocha Frappuccino, extra shot of espresso and extra whip radar. So there.

That day would go down in history as the day Axel uttered the phrase 'nice pants' to someone other than himself. Three days later, on the first day of the fall semester, I immensely regretted letting loose those words when I found myself waiting in the immensely long I-NEED-CAFFEINE-BEFORE-MY-NEXT-CLASS-OR-I-WILL-DIE line at the on-campus Starbucks behind Mr. I-Tie-Dyed-My-Pants-In-  
A-Vat-Of-Radioactive-Goo. Yeah, I was behind you-know-who, praying to the dear lord up in heaven that fancypants would not turn around and notice me.

Why would I have ever thought that I'd be so lucky?

Today his pants were red and black, checker-board style. You want to know how I know? I was totally admiring his ass (not like that. I had no interest in emotionally challenged males) when I heard an unfortunately familiar voice say, "Oh, you again."

I glanced upward quickly, trying to conceal the fact that I was closely investigating his style choice for the day. Pretty sure he noticed.

"What's up, Mr. No-Whip?" I asked him nonchalantly, as if my eyes hadn't been glued to his backside for the past minute or so.

"Nothing much," he stated simply, glancing over to see how close to the front of the line we were. Fantastic. He thought I was a total freak who had been checking him out and now he wanted to get as far away from me as fast as possible. Just great.

Shifting my position a little to lean on my other leg, I decided that talking to neon pants (well, checkered today) in front of me was better than waiting silently for the fifty people (I mean, seriously, guys, did everybody have to get Starbucks in between classes?) ahead of us in line to order their goddamn drinks and get the hell out of here. I, Axel, cannot take awkward silence for long, and this lack of dialogue was a severe indication of the hate waves I could feel oozing from the stuck-up blonde.

"Sooo… you're a student here at the university, right? Are you a freshman? Because I definitely don't remember you and I'm sure I would've recognized you… you're quite noticeable, you know," I smirked, knowing I had captured his attention with that last comment. He looked at me, still no hint of an expression on his face. God, didn't this kid care about anything? What was his problem? I was just trying to make some fucking friendly conversation.

"Junior. You know….," the blonde turned around briefly and looked at me expressionlessly, cocking his head a bit, "there are 18,000 students at this school." He turned back around, once again inspecting the menu. Like he didn't already know what he was going to order. This kid was aggravating. In retaliation, I decided to press further and continue our dying conversation.

"Cool… I'm a senior… and trust me, I know a lot of people. I am quite popular." I refused to let him one-up me. 'There are 18,000 students at this school.' Pfft. I would not let that snarky-ass comment go unpunished. Ok, so maybe he didn't mean it that way, his tone wasn't quite snippity, but still. He had already trampled on my dignity enough. Let me tell you, I am a very prideful being under the influence of a severe superiority complex.

I eyed the counter. About five more people to go before mini-blonde (he must have been at least a full head shorter than me!) ordered his drink. I wasn't done playing with him yet. Oh no, there was more than enough Starbucks time to crack through neon emo-pants' shell. I wouldn't just crumble this kid's defense, I would burn it to the ground. I was going to make this kid regret the day he touched my mocha and embarrassed me in front of everyone in Starbucks.

The younger boy remained silent, but started rummaging through the pockets of his backpack, eventually withdrawing a black and white checkered wallet (where the hell did this kid shop, anyway?). Three people left before he reached the cashier.

"I'm Axel… by the way." I held out my hand in a gesture of civility. He looked at me blankly, then down at my outstretched arm. He shook my hand warily, looking up at me. Once again, I was stunned by the color of those eyes. Daaamn. I had never seen such a gorgeous blue, and it absolutely killed me to even think that. I wasn't used to complimenting other people.

"Roxas…" he said, and turned around to place his order with the waiting cashier.

"Eh?" I uttered. Roxas? What does that mean?

"It's my name," he explained, glancing back at me over his shoulder while the woman behind the counter rang up his order.

"Oh… that's badass!" I exclaimed, drawing his attention again, "Names with x's in them are just freakin' awesome, if I don't say so myself!" I flashed him a dazzling smile as I stepped up to the cashier next to him, which had just freed up. He looked away quickly, his cheeks a little rosy, and proceeded to dictate his order. Did he just blush? I thought, curiously. Maybe he doesn't have many friends and doesn't know how to deal with outgoing people next to him in line at Starbucks?

"Venti mocha..." I started ordering, then thought for a moment. Hmmm… I had an idea. Why not try something new? "One second," I said to the checkout girl.

I turned to Roxas. "What did you order?" I asked nonchalantly, hoping he would tell me.

"…green tea Frappuccino, no whip," Roxas revealed hesitantly, looking at me from the corner of his eyes as he handed the cashier a five dollar bill.

I turned back to the girl behind the counter in front of me. "Selphie, I'll have the same, except with EXTRA whipped cream, please," I said devilishly, smiling conspiratorially at the younger girl, my favorite barista. I winked slyly at her, knowing that was enough to get me a mug full of whipped cream, if I so wanted. Selphie giggled and nodded her head before reading the price of the drink to me.

Roxas shook his head in disbelief before heading up to the drink pick-up counter. "Have you ever even tried a green tea frappaccino?" he asked me curiously when I joined him where he was waiting for his drink.

"No!" I said gleefully, excited at the prospect of irritating this kid. Well, I'll admit, I was also curious to taste this drink. I mean, I loved my mochas, but the same old same old every day couldn't be good for me, eh?

My glee quickly turned to shock when the barista announced, "Venti green tea Frappuccino, no whip." The drink was… green. A… ghastly… shade… of green.

"What the fuck?" I hissed, looking at Roxas curiously, "It's… green. How the hell can you drink that?! I mean… it… is… green!"

"It's good," Roxas shrugged, taking a sip. He watched me as the barista finished my version, topping it off with a mountain of whipped cream.

I eyed the drink warily as the barista announced its title. I was reluctant to claim it, ready to send it back in exchange for my traditional mocha. But… the kid was watching. I couldn't deface myself anymore by appearing cowardly. I, Axel, afraid of a ghastly green tea blended crème Frappuccino that was vaguely reminiscent of spinach?! Never! I took the plunge and bravely seized my beverage.

Roxas snorted and smiled crookedly. Wait, had Roxas just smiled? What? Did I miss something? Sure, I had only known him for a total of, like, fifteen minutes, but I'm quite certain that I was correct in my observation that Roxas did not smile, being emotionally uncertain, as his pants indicated.

"What?!" I verbally attacked him, showing my exasperation with the whole situation via a particularly paralyzing glare.

He quickly regained his composure, taking up his characteristic blank expression once again.

"Your face," was the only comment he offered as he began heading towards the exit. I dashed to catch up to him, drink still in hand, as of yet untasted.

"What do you mean?" I inquired, falling into step beside him, matching his pace as we made our way outside and down the central campus path. "Did I make my disbelief at the existence of such an oddly grotesque, yet sinfully intriguing twenty ounces of a bizarrely colored blended beverage extraordinarily apparent on my gorgeous, flawless, and dazzling visage?"

"Yeah," Roxas confirmed, nodding as he sucked away at the drink in his hand, "You did." He stared pointedly straight ahead as he continued following the pathway, avoiding a few rushing students as they passed by.

I maintained my position by his side as I followed him. Hell, I had nowhere to go, my next class didn't start for an hour, and I'd be damned if I let this interesting little boy with the badass name and spiky blonde hair escape.

"Sooo… does it taste green?" I asked Roxas, looking at him from the corner of my eyes while holding the drink up in the sunlight.

Roxas shrugged, "…I guess it does…" he mused, still sipping the grass-colored concoction in his hand. He adjusted his backpack and turned down another pathway. He eyed me warily as I turned with him. "You know…" Roxas commented, side-eyeing me, "you should drink it before it melts." I scowled as he glanced away, turning left towards a row of classrooms. I followed him – I was going stick to him like glue (at least until Japanese 101) and discover what exactly caused him to become so antisocial.

I just don't know how to mind my own damn business, now do I?


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: Ok, so maybe I'm checking you out… just a little.

So I guess you're probably wondering what exactly happened between me and my little Starbucks surprise – no, not Roxas, I'm talking about that weird green tea Frappuccino. Jesus, get your mind out of the gutter. Like I'd ever be interested in that squirt beyond the realm of patient and psychotherapist.

Anyways.

"I, Axel, who drinks only venti mocha frappaccinos, extra shot of espresso and extra extra whipped cream, am about to embrace a deviation from my daily routine and take a sip of this, and I stress, green, Starbucks creation," I declared to the world, which at this point consisted of Roxas, walking next to me, and the squirrels frolicking in the trees overshadowing the path we were following.

I checked out of the corners of my eyes to make sure that Roxas was watching – he was, with a mildly interested look on his face, might I add – and lifted the straw to my lips.

Hot damn.

This drink wasn't half bad.

"Well?" Roxas asked, expectantly.

"It definitely… tastes green. And I think I like green," I replied, drinking more fervently, wanting to enjoy the frappuccino while it was still unmelted. "It could definitely use a shot of espresso, though. I need my morning jolt"

"Ew… I doubt that would mix well," Roxas commented, frowning.

"Hmm… I suppose you're right…" I thought aloud.

We walked in silence for a while longer, both us contemplating our frappuccinos. I began to pay attention to where Roxas was leading us, wondering where he was heading to on this first day of classes.

"How long do you intend to follow me?" I was a bit startled by Roxas' query, as I had become acquainted with our companionable silence. I looked up and realized that we had stopped in front of one of the university's libraries.

Hmm. What now? It would seem more than a little weird of me to follow the kid into the library, so I decided to take my leave. I had a feeling that I would be running into mini-blonde again. Just an inkling, but for some reason, I knew that I wanted to be Roxas' friend, whether he liked it or not.

"Later, Roxas!" I waved casually, turned around and started traveling in the opposite direction. After a few steps though, I looked back towards the library doors, taking note that Roxas was still standing there, watching me head out. "Thanks for the idea!" I called out, waving the half-empty venti cup in the air. He waved back at me and shook his head, amusement dancing in his eyes.

I think we bonded, no?

I continued on my merry way to Japanese 101, something I decided to take for fun. I discovered it was so much that a drag than I thought it would be. If Demyx hadn't taken the course with me I think I would have just died. He always managed to make even the most boring classes entertaining.

Demyx was… well, and I don't mean any offense by this, but… eccentric. In a good way. He was a daydreamer, that's for sure, and a little far out. Demyx and I had been best friends since the first day of high school. We met in first period, English, and were instant partners in crime after Demyx's smart-aleck comment about our teacher's ridiculously spiky hair. We spent the next four years pranking teachers and other students - anything to prove our self-labeled 'badassness'. Yeah, I know, cringey, but we were young and hey, it was high school, and we needed to let off some steam and have a little fun.

Now, we were older, more mature (well, maybe not Demyx) college students, having gained acceptance into one of the finest universities in the country (or so the school would have us believe), and very compatible roommates. I'll admit, I was afraid that living together would turn us into archenemies – although we got along well, Demyx wasn't the easiest person to live with (Um, can you say opera? Yeah, Demyx sang until 3:00 AM every morning. My first purchase while living as an independent college student was a pair of earplugs). Fortunately, we made it through our first year together as roomies and decided to continue as such, to this very day.

Demyx was a theatre major (musical theatre, to be precise), and let me tell you, it showed. He had a flair for the dramatic, and could blow any little happenstance completely out of proportion using his exceptional acting 'talents' (I still don't know how he got into the theatre program). Which, unfortunately, was exactly what he did when I told him about my little chance meetings with a certain Mr. Roxas that morning and three days earlier.

"Axel, you have to find this kid! He needs friends! I want to be his friend," Demyx insisted, much to my irritation. We were lounging outside of the food court, sitting at a stone table shaded from the blinding afternoon sun by a large umbrella, chatting amicably across from each other while eating lunch. I was munching on a chicken avocado wrap while Demyx indulged in veggie sushi.

"Dem… he's emotionally unstable," I explained, "I really don't think that you and he would mix. Well, I think together you two would be a living time bomb. He's not much for conversation, and face it, ALL you do is talk. You'd both quickly get on each other's nerves and I'd have to be the one to break up the fistfight that would ensue. But seriously, I've only known him for about thirty minutes, total. Just drop it."

"And just what evidence do you have that he's emotionally unstable?" Demyx inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"His pants," I stated firmly, with conviction.

Demyx rolled his eyes and plopped another piece of sushi into his mouth. "You're one to talk, Mr. Firetruck-red-hair."

I glared at Demyx grabbed one of his sushi rolls. "What are you talking about?!"

"You're insane, dude," Demyx commented matter-of-factly and quickly grabbed his roll back from me in my moment of weakness. "Don't make me remind you of the foolish things you've done."

I angrily bit into my wrap, staring Demyx down. Swallowing, I retorted "You were my partner in crime for most of those."

"And I am freely admitting that I am not all that put-together, you ass." Demyx poked through the second half of my wrap with his chopstick while making his point. He sighed and waved my speared wrap in the air, "I'm just saying, dude, don't be so quick to judge. If you met me in Starbucks today, would you want to be friends with me?" He quirked an eyebrow and wagged my half-wrap at me.

I paused, considering.

"No," he answered his own question, and set my wrap down with care. I claimed it before he could begin any new shenanigans. "But look where we are."

I stared at him murderously as I chewed.

"And really, who's the stranger one here?" He paused thoughtfully, putting his chopsticks to his temple, "The pants-wearer… or the pants-starer?" He waggled his brows suggestively at me and then laughed heartily at his own joke.

I flushed, embarrassed, "Quit waggling your eyebrows at me. And it wasn't like that."

Demyx regained his composure long enough to whisper, "So… how good did he look in those pants to earn your attention?" He couldn't contain his laughter long enough to waggle his eyebrows at me.

"That's it, man." I plucked the last three sushi rolls off his tray with my bare hands and stuffed them in my mouth.

"Hey!" Demyx shouted, his laughter dying. "That was so not cool, Ax. I'm hungry!"

I chewed some more and then spluttered, "And I did not tell you that story for you to blow it out of proportion.

"Pfft," Demyx huffed, putting his chopsticks down and crossing his arms, "You need to chill. I'm just teasing you. But," Demyx suddenly lowered his voice and leaned in toward me conspiratorially, "You know, they say that if you meet someone three times, it's… destiny."

"Oh, please," I groaned, "Can you be any –" I paused when I saw a checkered flash from the corner of my eyes.

"Well, speak of the devil," I muttered, putting down my now quarter of a wrap and looking past Dem towards the large automatic doors leading into food court. They were closing behind a certain young blonde by the name of Roxas.

"Oh my God, is that him?!" Demyx asked eagerly, whipping around and not even trying to hide his staring. I glared stonily at my best friend, neither answering yes nor no. I knew what would happen if I let Demyx have his way. I turned my attention back to the boy approaching and tried to maintain my composure. Roxas was still wearing the same black-and-red checkered pants from this morning. Thank goodness they weren't as radioactive as the neon-green ones. These actually attracted a positive sort of attention.

Of course, those pants would look better on me. All pants would look better on me.

That particular pair did look pretty snazzy on Roxas, though.

"It is him, isn't it? Look at those pants! That must be him!" Demyx looked at me wide-eyed, glancing towards Roxas and then towards me, furiously turning his head to look back and forth between us. Then, much to my dismay, HORROR of all HORRORS, Demyx raised his hand up and waved. "ROXAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" he called, waving fervently.

Hold on, let me clarify that statement. Demyx did not just simply yell out Roxas' name, beckoning him to join us. Oh no, a simple cry of "Roxas!" wouldn't suffice when it came to Demyx. No no no, my dear dramatic friend had to go all out with everything he did, of course. Oh yes, Demyx positively OPERA-FUCKING-SANG Roxas's name for the entire courtyard to hear. The young blonde's name, according to Demyx, was no longer a simple, two syllable, two second term. Demyx just couldn't resist twisting the poor boy's name into "Roooooooooooooo-ooo-OOO-ooo-OOO -oooo-OOO-ooooo-x-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-aaa-SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS-ssssssssssssssss!".

I was ready to die from embarrassment.

What the hell was wrong with Demyx? I'd be damned if Roxas even looked at me, let alone spoke to me ever again. My dream of playing the part of Roxas' psychotherapist crumbled around me (ok, I know, weird dream. But I'll admit, I LOVE to meddle in other people's lives. It's a bad habit).

"Demyx!" I hissed, putting my hand over my eyes in shame, "I'm going to fucking kill you in your sleep tonight! What the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm just inviting him over! Come on, Axel, you know I hate seeing people eat alone!" Demyx pleaded, looking at me with puppy dog eyes. "I'm just trying to be friendly!" he pleaded.

"He hasn't sat down anywhere yet. He may have a whole bunch of neon-pants-wearing friends waiting for him," I retorted, "Plus, that was not friendly. That was freakish and scary. Go be friendly when I'm not around to suffer." How dare Demyx take my case study into his own hands?!

Demyx looked away from me and continued to frantically wave at the blond punk. Roxas's eyes widened slightly and then he squinted into the sunlight, confused. Then, I saw him spot the source of the call (I mean, who could miss the ridiculous, over-the-top waving). He glanced from my obnoxious friend to me, and a flash of recognition crossed his face.

"Oh God he's coming towards us," I wailed, covering my eyes with my hands and looking downward, shamefaced at my best friend's antics. "Dem, this is soo embarrassing. Can you put your arm down please? Ok he saw us! HE'S COMING DEM STOP IT! SHUT UP!" Seeing him start to open his mouth in his customary opera position, I stood abruptly, reached across the table and promptly covered Demyx's mouth with my hand before he could call Roxas again.

"Hey Roxas," I greeted him smoothly, trying to act as if I didn't realize that Demyx had just opera-sung his name, steadfastly gripping my friend's head to keep him silent all the while pretending this was nothing unusual. I'm surprised that Roxas didn't just turn around and run away. You'd think that Demyx would have scared him off – that embarrassing fiasco combined with Demyx's blond mohawk fauxhawk WHATEVER he has on his head forms a very foreign and intimidating situation. I smiled at Roxas, trying to put him at ease. Aw, hell. Just then, Demyx wrangled out of my grasp and I fell backward, tumbling over the bench I had been hovering over and rolling onto the ground.

"PLEASE SIT WI-"

"SHUT UP DEMYX!" I exclaimed, glaring at my friend and scrambling up, brushing my knees off and wincing at the pain caused by the tumble. I turned to look at Roxas, still holding a tray of food in one hand about a foot away from our table while covering his mouth with the other to conceal the fact that he was laughing – at me. At me! Me, Axel! His hand failed to cover up the crime as his laughter shook his body and his eyes squinted up.

"Oh my god," I groaned and hit my palm to my forehead, "I am so sorry. And so embarrassed." I shook my head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Roxas, this is my best friend Demyx. No, he is not a psychopath, as far as I know, just a little… well… eccentric," I introduced, removing my hand from my forehead and gesturing towards Demyx. "Demyx, this is Roxas. We met at Starbucks the other day." I glared at Demyx, trying to warn him telepathically that if he let on that I had told him about my meetings with Roxas I would set his blankets on fire later (preferably while he was lying comfortably under them, sleeping peacefully).

"Nice to meet you!" Demyx exclaimed, holding out his hand, which Roxas shook after recovering from his laughter. I felt my anger and embarrassment slip away slowly as Roxas chuckled one last time in my direction.

"Nice to meet you," Roxas confirmed, withdrawing from the gesture. "That was… quite the introduction."

"Please, be honest. It was… ridiculous," I sat back down after pulling a blade of grass out of my hair. Looking up at Roxas, I hesitated, then asked politely, "Would you… like to sit with us?"

"Yes, please join us!" Demyx seconded. He just couldn't stay quiet for one single moment, now could he?

Roxas looked around, pausing before he accepted the offer. "Sure.. why not?" I'm sure he realized that there was practically nobody else around at this odd time while most people were in classes and he had no other choice.

"Thanks," he said, placing his food-laden tray down next to Demyx and diagonally across the table from me. I shifted my position a little so that I was sitting more equidistant from the two of them, alone as I was on this side of the rectangular table. I surveyed little Roxas's lunch choice for the day (hey, what a person eats gives away a lot about them. Take, for instance, my lean chicken avocado wrap. What does that food choice say about me? Not only am I healthy, but I am undeniably tall, lean, and sexy. What more do you need to know?). Hmmm. Roxas was planning to dine upon a chicken Caesar salad and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

I took the time to interpret the results of the food test. According to his choice of lunch, Roxas was a pensive soul, with thoughts as deep as his soup bowl. The fact that he chose chicken noodle implied that he had complex worries, and, like those books that everybody used to read, just needed a little chicken noodle soup to help put his thoughts at rest (see – I told you he suffered from emotional turmoil) (chicken noodle soup just screams emo). He was mysterious, like his choice of salad (why was it named Caesar?), and intriguing, sparking curiosity in those he met (I'm going to have to google that salad later). He had a complexion as creamy as the Caesar dressing and amazingly gorgeous blue eyes that were dazzlingly disorienting; they would suck you in and pick apart your mind, as if he knew all your secrets; I just couldn't, just couldn't look away, just drowning in that blue…

Um. What was I saying?

…That was quite enough of that.

Comparing Roxas to his food, I mean.

"So where are you from?!" Demyx asked Roxas eagerly. I tuned into their conversation.

"Twilight City," came Roxas's reply. He stabbed at his salad with his fork, eyes cast downward.

"Yeah, baby!" Demyx exclaimed, raising his hand up for a high five. Roxas stared for a moment at Dem's upraised arm, then awkwardly reached up to meet it. "Me and Axel are Twilightians, born and raised!" he clarified, "Ain't that right, Axel my friend?!"

"Yes sir!" I joined in Dem's glee and high fived him, then Roxas (who was not too enthusiastic).

"Oh come on, Roxas, that was a pathetic high five. Let's try it again, except this time with some enthusiasm! Some emotion!" I challenged . Roxas looked up at me, and for a moment my vision went blue. He raised his arm and repeated the gesture, with a little more power the second time around. Our hands met in the air with a loud clap and I felt a shock of electricity running up my arm from the impact, an odd little unfamiliar spark that made its way up my arm and down my spine, into my stomach where it lingered.

What the hell? Did this kid have static electricity or something?

"Now that's more like it!" Demyx applauded, and then broke open a container of dumplings he bought to accompany the sushi that I had finished off for him. "So do you miss the big city?" he asked Roxas.

"Hmm, kind of…" Roxas nodded, a wistful look in his eyes. He stared into the distance. I could tell that this conversation topic would be a path eventually worth pursuing, but I didn't really want to push it right now. Demyx had already created enough of a scene, the fool, and I didn't want to scare Roxas off by prying too deeply into his past.

"Dem, what's in those dumplings?" I asked him casually, hoping to change the subject.

"I don't know, veggies, dude." Demyx replied, popping a whole dumpling into his mouth. "Demyx is a vegetarian," I explained, looking at Roxas, "Personally I don't know how he does it. I would get bored quickly, but Demyx loves it."

"Wow," Roxas stated, directing his gaze towards Demyx, "That's pretty cool."

"Thanks! I'm actually thinking about going all the way and becoming vegan," Dem added.

"If Demyx is going to do something, it's got to be extreme and over the top," I commented, chuckling.

"Hey! If you knew how they treated those poor animals you'd stop eating meat too!" Demyx cried, and then assumed a theatrical pose, sobbing deeply. I swear, he never stopped.

"Please," I begged, looking pointedly at Roxas, "Ignore him. So what's your major?" I inquired, completely tuning Demyx out and his obviously fake bawling.

"Education," Roxas told me.

"Oh, wow. You want to be a teacher?" I inquired, pushing for more details. "Kids are terrible these days."

"That's the plan," Roxas nodded grimly. He seemed to hesitate, about to speak, and bit his lip slightly. "What about you? What's your major?" Roxas asked me.

Was little Roxas actually willingly participating in the conversation? We were making progress here, my friends!

"Well, I'm a double major in math and chemistry." I flashed another one of my dazzling smiles.

"And Dem over there, he's known what he's wanted to do since elementary school!"

"Yessir!" Demyx confirmed, nodding fervently, "I am a musical theatre major, loud and proud, baby!"

"Very loud," I added, "VERY very loud."

"Hey!" Demyx cried, and threw one of his dumplings at me. The ridiculous little bundle hit me square in the middle of the forehead, falling into my lap. I recoiled instantly from the light but oily impact.

"Oh my God that's IT DEMYX," I exclaimed, looking down at my pants which now had a very obvious dumpling oil stain. I picked up the dumpling and threw it back at him carelessly. "MY PANTS, DEMYX, MY PANTS! I can't go to class like this!" I wailed, trying futilely to remove the stain with a napkin.

"This guy is obsessed with his appearance," Demyx whispered conspiratorially to Roxas, who's mouth twitched in the beginnings of a smile.

"Not funny, De-" I was interrupted by a still unfamiliar laughing. Dem and I both looked at each other, and then Roxas.

Who was laughing.

Laughing.

At me. Again!

Shit.

I felt my face heat up, and I knew I was turning red.

"So..rry…" Roxas managed to say, in between chuckles, "You two are great friends…"

Great friends, my ass. Why are all my acquaintances such freaks?

And why the hell was I so eager to be Roxas's friend?


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: I agree, those pants would look hot on me

Lunch passed by without further incident (thank God). Before separating, Demyx managed to convince Roxas to meet us Friday night for an intense Super Smash Brothers tournament. Heh. This kid didn't know what he was getting into. Demyx was surely going to wipe the floor with his angsty little derriere; even I'd never been able to one-up Dem.

The rest of the day dragged slowly on, with me forcing myself to stay awake during my next two classes. I really couldn't focus. I mean, it was the first day – the professors weren't actually teaching anything, just covering the syllabus and course requirements. I was perfectly capable of going back to the dorm and reading all the paperwork myself.

Plus it didn't help that I couldn't stop thinking about a certain little blonde.

I'm sure Roxas had a deep, dark, past that caused his emotional trauma (assuming that I was interpreting his fashion and lunch choices correctly), and I just had to know.

I needed to know more about him.

Later that day I returned to the on-campus apartment I shared with Demyx. It turned out that Roxas also lived in this particular complex, so Roxas conveniently wouldn't have far to go when he came over Friday night.

I walked down the hall after getting off the elevator (we lived on the thirteenth floor. Ominous, I know) and pulled out my keys. I unlocked the door, ran inside, slammed it shut, and collapsed on the couch.

"Well, hello to you too," Demyx commented from the kitchen table as I lunged onto the cushions.

"Hmmffo," I greeted him, my face buried in a pillow. I turned onto my back and repeated, "Hello." I stared at the walls of our apartment. They were covered with different prints of images from my and Demyx's favorite video games – and one obligatory family photo. I wondered what Roxas would think of my décor when he came over for Super Smash Brothers night on Friday.

Sigh. I really needed to stop thinking about Roxas. I have other friends, you know. I just hadn't seen them at all during the three and a half month summer break – none of our good friends from our circle lived in Twilight City like me and Dem. Senior year had started in a rush, with me and Demyx leaving four days later than originally planned and scrambling to get schedules and books and paper and pens and all those typical school things that Demyx and I had mysteriously run out of at the end of the Spring semester. Oh, and there was the whole issue of neither of us packing our apartment keys….

"Hey, Ax – Leon texted me like an hour ago. He wants to know if we're meeting for dinner as usual?" Demyx swiveled in his desk chair to face me.

"Sure, whatever," I agreed, pushing my face deeper into the delicious, cool pillow, feeling myself sink cozily into the couch crevices. "Wake me up when it's time to go." I turned onto my side and closed my eyes.

I walked through the mall, in a daze, staring at all the colorful items for sale, my senses overwhelmed by the lights, the displays, the people. Never had I seen so many people packed into one shopping plaza. Through the crowd I spotted the flash of blonde, strutting ahead determinedly, and ran to catch up. Every so often he would look back, to make sure I was still behind him, unswallowed by the masses, and I would witness a glimmer of blue glowing among the shadowed people.

I could not catch up.

Still, though, I followed.

I dashed.

I darted around corners.

I ran with all my might, finally just resorting to shoving people aside. I needed to reach him. To me, at that moment, it was a matter of life and death.

And then, he stopped. He glanced back at me, and finally, finally, I was close enough to touch him. So I did. I reached out and grabbed his shoulders, bent over in exhaustion, panting for breath, and gasped, "Roxas!"

He just looked at me blankly, his blue eyes burning brightly, strangely, in the shadowed atmosphere. Then, he slowly reached out an arm, pointing to a mannequin in the store's window. The lifeless display was wearing only a pair of black skinny jeans, embellished with bright red and orange flames running up the sides.

"Those pants would look hot on you," Roxas stated simply.

I blinked and rubbed at my eyes lazily.

What the hell?

Why would I ever, and I repeat EVER, go shopping with Roxas? We all know the kid is an absolute fashion disaster.

I sat up on the couch and groaned, wishing I could go back to sleep. I looked lazily over at Dem, who was still perched in front of his laptop at the kitchen table, and asked him while rubbing my eyes, "Dem, what time is it?"

"6:32, to be exact," he replied, "Hey… what were you dreaming about?"

"I was… in a mall," I described, hesitantly, "and shopping… with Roxas. Not a good idea, my friend. You should have seen the pair of pants he was trying to get me to buy!" I stood up, stretching my limbs and smoothing back my long hair, fixing the ponytail that had become disheveled while I slept.

"Oh… so that's why you moaned Roxas's name in your sleep…" Demyx chuckled, "I was wondering…"

"Shut up, Demyx," I growled, throwing my pillow at him.

"Whatever, dude. Get ready, we're meeting Leon and the gang at seven for dinner."

"Fine, fine," I grumbled. I stood, stretched, and headed to my room to comb my hair back in place.

"LEON, MY MAN! HOW ARE YOU?!" Demyx roared, "AND CLOUD! WHAT'S UP, YOU SPIKY HAIRED BASTARD?!" proceeding to forcefully hug and clap Leon and Cloud on the back, each in turn. "I MISSED… YOU… GUYS… SOOO… MUCH!" he sobbed dramatically, turning his theatrics up to full volume. By then, everybody in the dining hall was staring at us, making Demyx the center of attention (which he absolutely loved, might I add). What a nutcase. Why was I friends with Dem again?

"Geez… chill," Leon muttered. The auburn-haired beauty next to him giggled.

"As lively as ever, I see, Demy!" she greeted him with a warm hug.

"Aerith! Looking gorgeous as usual!" Demyx hugged her back fiercely, practically crushing the frail-looking girl. I glanced at Cloud and caught him glaring at Demyx. Cloud and Aerith had been dating for about eight months now, I think. Aerith lived in the next big city over from Twilight, Hollow Bastion, about an hour's drive away from my hometown. She and Cloud had managed to maintain their slightly long-distance relationship over the summer, I saw (too bad. She was a real hottie).

"Axel!" she exclaimed, coming over to greet me, "It's been such a long time!"

"Sure has," I agreed, returning the friendly gesture. "Cloud! Leon! How have you guys been? The summer was tame without you two!" I broke the hug with Aerith and proceeded to high five my two friends.

"Hey Ax!" Cloud and Leon both greeted me. Cloud's hair was, I saw, still as ridiculously spiked and blonde as ever. How the hell did he manage to get it to defy gravity like that? I don't even think he used gel. I mean, even I had to use gel to achieve the perfect spiky look that I sometimes chose to grace my gorgeous, long, deep dark fire red hair (not today though. My hair was dramatically coiffed into a graceful ponytail fastened at my neck, hanging straight midway down my back). Leon, on the other hand, had deep brown hair that he gelled into that classic hero look from a cliché Japanese anime. Strikingly, though, a vicious scar ran over the bridge of his nose – a testament to his manhood, I suppose. I think he got the scar from a particularly nasty tennis stroke gone wrong – he ended up slashing his own face with the end of his racket.

"So, are you and Demyx archenemies yet? Does he still sing opera until an ungodly hour?" Leon grinned.

Damn, I missed these guys. Finally, life back to normal! No more bored summer days, no more weird conversations with strange juniors wearing neon green pants. I had my real friends back, so I was done thinking about Roxas – damn. I spotted a by now very familiar checkerboard garment heading my way.

Why was Roxas here?

Why did I keep running into him? You know, Demyx's whisper repeated in my thoughts, they say . . . it's destiny.

Destiny, my ass.

"ROXAS!" Demyx roared again, proceeding to practically molest Roxas, who had just walked up to our little group.

"Dem, calm down," I soothed, "You saw Roxas a few hours ago. Regain your composure. You're embarrassing yourself."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. It's just, you know, I'm really excited right now to see everyone! I got just a little carried away, I guess!" he explained, separating himself from a Roxas who was struggling to breathe. "Oh yeah, guys! This is Roxas! Make way for the new friend, make way!"

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Cloud. He was pointedly gazing in a direction opposite of Dem, trying to ignore him. Cloud was the strong, silent type, and we had always gotten along. Except when playing Smash Brothers.

Demyx began the introductions. "Guys, I hope you don't mind that I invited him to eat with us. Roxas, meet Leon, Cloud, and Aerith."

WHAT.

Demyx invited him? Since when?

Had I missed something?

"Demyx…" I hissed, "What the fuck do you think you're doing interfering with my case study? And when the hell did you invite him?!" I dragged him towards a buffet line on the opposite end of the dining hall.

"Um, hello, I'm just being friendly, and to answer your second question, I found him on Facebook a couple hours ago," Demyx retorted. "Also… what's the problem here?"

WHAT.

WHAT?!

Wait. Friendly? Facebook?

May I repeat, WHAT?

Hold on. This was too much for me to comprehend at the moment.

"You facebooked him? And invited him to meet our friends? Um, hello, Demyx," I whispered, copying his tone of voice, "our friends probably aren't his type of people!"

"Well, they seem to be getting along just fine over there," Demyx commented, gesturing towards the one of the other food lines, where Leon, Aerith, and Roxas were engaged in what seemed to be amiable conversation. Then he grabbed a plate, turned toward me suddenly, narrowed his eyes and hissed, "And what exactly are 'his type of people?'"

"I – you – You know! People who wear all black and listen to punk rock and are anti-social and – I don't know! Don't look at me like that!" I tried fervently to explain while claiming my own plate, but my attempts fell short of eloquent.

Demyx rolled his eyes before turning to place a dinner roll on his plate. "Just listen to yourself dude. You're the one acting crazy. Your case study? Get out of here."

"But!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly with my plate.

"Chill, Ax. Chill. Eat some veggies." He scooped some roasted broccoli and deposited it onto my plate, much to my horror. I glared fiercely at him. He continued after seizing a ladle-full of broccoli for himself, "And what do you care anyway? Roxas is super nice, actually, and I think you should stop judging him. Actually, you two would probably make really great friends."

I glanced sideways back at Roxas. Wow, Dem really knew how to make a guy feel bad. Now I was starting to regret psychologically assessing Roxas based on his wardrobe choices.

"I… I guess," I relented, talking at a normal tone now. I ran my hand through my hair, brushing some strands from my eyes. "Sorry… you're right," I conceded, "I really shouldn't judge him. I don't know what's up with me today. I do want to be his friend." I sighed.

Demyx eyed me curiously. I didn't like the way he was looking at me. "Really," he commented thoughtfully, and I couldn't tell how to interpret that one word.

"Yeah. You know," I began as I plucked five chicken tenders out of a tray, "Sometimes you just meet someone and you know you want to be their friend?" My words formed half a question, half a statement.

"Hmm, I kinda do. Well," he said, lightening the mood, "Friday night should be fun!"

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding slowly, then perking up visibly, "We must crush Cloud."

"YESSIR!" Demyx saluted, "WE WILL MAKE HIM PAY FOR WHAT HE'S DONE."

"So, Roxas, how do you know Axel and Demyx?" Aerith inquired in a friendly tone, once everybody had filled up their plates and gathered at our chosen table.

"We met at Starbucks," Roxas enlightened.

"They ordered the same drink and Axel totally flipped out about it. He thought Roxas was trying to steal his precious mocha." Demyx elaborated. Obviously this story was too entertaining for him not to share.

Crap. Now Roxas knew that I had shared the circumstances of our meeting with Demyx. That's kind of… embarrassing. Roxas eyed me curiously, and I could tell he was amused.

Leon laughed deeply and sat back in his chair. "Sounds just like Ax," he commented, "I'm surprised you're still alive. Oh God, last time I even touched his mocha – I was just trying to move it so I could put my papers down – he went all psychotic ninja on me."

"Oh, I remember that," Cloud added, spearing a slice of baked chicken, "we were in the library studying for calc and he actually climbed a bookcase and pounced on you."

"What was the name of that attack again?" Leon wondered out loud, "Oh yeah, I remember now! Here's the full story: I moved his mocha and he glared at me with such ferocity I couldn't budge. He must have focused his chi or something into that look because I was scared shitless." Everyone chuckled and Roxas' eyes widened. "Axel then, astoundingly, scampered to the top of a 7-foot-tall bookcase and launched himself off the top shelf, shouting AERIAL FIRE ANTIDERIVATIVE STRIKE! MEET YOUR DOOM, BITCH. Let's just say it was an instant KO when he landed on me. I'm still surprised I didn't end up in the hospital."

"They were banned from the library for the rest of exam week," Aerith added, leaning towards Roxas, across from whom she was sitting.

Roxas laughed.

I felt my cheeks flushing a bit. "Ok, so I'm a little overprotective of my daily mocha. It's the greatest human invention on the face of the planet. I swear, it's the meaning of life. If you knew of its bliss, you would react in the same way."

"I don't know about that, Ax… I don't think we're as extreme as you…" Leon joked.

"Hey, what is this – tell embarrassing stories about Axel day?" I grumbled, turning my concentration back to the broccoli left on my plate, poking a particularly green one with my fork.

"Every story about you is embarrassing, Axel," Cloud added dryly before biting into his cheeseburger. He covered his head with his hands and swallowed rapidly as I raised my fork with the full intention to fling some oily, salty, peppery roasted broccoli when I felt Demyx's hand on my wrist, holding me back.

"Ok Ax, please remember that you're an adult," he commented, then confiscated my fork and the rest of my broccoli.

To my left, Roxas shook his head, then looked at me and smiled. Sheepishly, I smiled back.

After dinner, I rushed back to the apartment, outrunning Demyx, and slid into my room, slammed the door shut, divebombed onto my bed, grabbed my computer and proceeded to frantically open an internet browser.

Why was I so frenzied, you ask? What was in such a hurry to investigate? If that little Facebook bell wasn't lit up with Roxas' friend request, then I was going to just die. Ok, so maybe that's a little over the top, but if Roxas was Demyx's friend but not mine then I was going to be seriously pissed.

"Damn computer," I muttered to myself, "Damn slow school wifi." Finally, I was able to get online and check my social media.

"Sweet!" I exclaimed out loud, clicking "accept" next to Roxas' friend request. Ok, lame, I know, but for some reason, I was overjoyed.

Ok, I have a secret confession to make.

I, Axel, am a facebook stalker.

I can't help it. I love to creep on my friend's facebooks and read all about their lives. I'm nosy, ok? And curious. Very curious

That particular characteristic got me into trouble at times.

And guess who's facebook I would creep on first tonight?

I sat cross-legged on my bed, glaring at the computer. Perplexed, I laid down on my back and stared at the ceiling. There were certain revelations that I needed to wrap my brain around, to digest.

First of all, Roxas had more facebook friends than I did. This was disturbing because I had vividly described him to Demyx as psychotic, anti-social, lonely, friendless, eccentric, dark, etc. etc.

Secondly, Roxas seemed to be… err… well. Uh. .

Well, you know. You . . . know. Yeah.

See these 20 pictures from August to December of 2018? That is Roxas. And that, there, in the pictures with him – that person… you see what I'm saying now?

That person in all of the 20 photos was a… man. And they were - you know - very fond of each other. I think. I mean, it looked that way. That was definitely Roxas pecking the other man's cheek, wasn't it?

But, then again, Roxas was pictured from September of 2017 through May of 2018 with a very lovely, wisp of a girl. They also looked very fond of each other. There was more cheek kissing.

So, I'm not sure, I guess. Maybe Roxas is just very friendly?

I rolled around, feeling a bit nervous for some reason. Why did Roxas keep popping up in my life? Why did he –

Then I shook my head. Who cares who Roxas liked? It didn't make him any less of a cool dude. Obviously he was, since he had 1,057 friends on Facebook. You don't earn that many being rude. And it didn't make me want to be his friend any less. In fact, it made me even more curious about him.

It also made me very curious about these two past paramours, especially the man. I rolled back onto my stomach and clicked eagerly on the name tagged in those 20 photos. As I scrolled through the stranger's profile I noted his distinct lack of style and all-around boring-ness. How did this guy manage to snag a catch like Roxas? Was it because he's close to Roxas' height? Is Roxas into short dudes? Black-haired dudes? Dudes who have pet cats named Momo?

Why do I care what type of guys Roxas is into? Who cares about his ex-boyfriend's incredibly adorable grey cat named Momo who loves to be scratched behind his left ear?

I've gone to deep, I thought, and shook my head, clicking the 'back' button to return to Roxas' profile, perusing through his friends list.

It must be the eyes, I thought, there's no way Roxas actually has friends, right?

What a silly thought. Of course he did. Was I wrong all this time?

Had I really, truly, incorrectly read Roxas?


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello again! Thank you for getting this far and for reading my story. Have a great Friday!

Also, I realized that my italics and bold may have been lost in my previous chapters because I am fool, which would make some parts a bit difficult to read. I will go back and check asap. Sorry about that.

**CHAPTER 4: HELLO, GORGEOUS**

The next day a woman entered my life and obliterated all thoughts of Roxas.

And _what_ a **_woman_**.

So here's the story: While waiting for our statistics professor to walk into the classroom, Demyx and I were playing tic-tac-toe when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black haired, female figure enter the classroom. Moments later I heard someone pull out the chair next to me and sit down.

"Warning, _hot_ chick at nine o'clock," Demyx whispered in my ear, while continuing to nonchalantly murder me at tic-tac-toe.

"How do you _do_ that?" I asked Demyx incredulously, while trying to sneak a glance at the girl next to me, "How do you beat me _every_ time?"

"You shouldn't have put your X here," an unfamiliar female voice recommended, and a long, well-manicured black nail tapped at the X I had drawn in the upper right hand corner of the game board on the back of my Japanese homework "You left yourself defenseless against his attack from here." The nail traced leisurely along the paper to the opposite side of the game board.

I looked to my left at the owner of the unknown voice.

DAMN, BABY.

Demyx _always_ knew how to spot 'em, and he hadn't failed this time. The girl had long, perfectly straight, gorgeously glossy jet black hair, and large, expressive, slightly almond-shaped brown eyes with some crimson flecks near the center. Now here was a woman I could appreciate!

I'm not lying when I say that interest blossomed within me. Let's just say that I was _definitely_ attracted to this mystery woman, and I wanted to get to know her better. I hated to admit that being single for almost a year was, well… lonely. Does that surprise you? I mean, the single part. I know, I know, women fawn all over me, you'd think I'd never be without a companion. Sure, I've asked plenty of girls out for a cup of coffee during my stay here, but let's face it, time passes quickly, and no one held my interest for long.

Until now, of course.

"Thanks for the tip," I said gratefully, making sure to look directly at her and dazzle her with a smile, "I'll have to watch out for Demyx's tricks in the future." I gestured toward my best friend.

"No problem," she whispered (the professor had begun to greet us) and turned her attention to the front of the classroom.

Not wanting to lose her attention, I introduced myself. "I'm Axel." I held out my hand. She shook it firmly. That was a good start. There's nothing worse than meeting someone who gives you a gross, limp handshake.

"I'm Tifa," she explained quietly, lips curling up, "Nice to meet you!"

It was _definitely_ nice to meet such a fine specimen of womanhood.

The next time I saw Tifa was Thursday, in my second statistics session of the year. After talking a little more, I found her even more attractive. She was a sophomore and a biology major, hoping to do medical research in the future with the aim of curing disease.

I decided to make my move. After the professor dismissed class for the day, I turned to her and asked smoothly, "I've got an hour to kill before my next class. Do you want to grab some coffee? The Starbucks here makes a mocha so good the gods must come down from Olympus to drink it."

She giggled at my lameness and replied, "Sure! I'm not really a coffee kind of girl though."

Uh oh.

Not into coffee? I was starting to have second thoughts. Too bad she wasn't more like Roxas. _He_ shared my taste in espresso blended Starbucks loveliness. I felt myself starting to crave a venti mocha frappuccino, extra shot of espresso, extra whip. I wondered if Roxas ordered that often. Well, obviously, without the whip. Briefly, a specific photo from Roxas' Facebook profile flittered in my mind's eye, one where he smiled mid-mocha-sip so blissfully at his companion, so adorably enamored, mouth laughing around his straw. For a second, just a millisecond, really, it was me in his companion's spot, and Roxas' smile was just for me.

Whoa whoa whoa. Let's re-think that. See? This was the effect that mocha had on my brain. Maybe I should stop drinking all that caffeine. Maybe it was killing off my neurons, one by one.

Right?

That must have been the reason.

Back to Tifa. You know, the beautiful lady who just agreed to have coffee with me?

"Fantastic," I countered smoothly, covering the moment of hesitation that had occurred while my brain froze for a second back there. "And just so you know, mochas are made with espresso, not coffee."

"Same thing, loser," Tifa teased me lightly while rolling her eyes. She stood and gathered her notes, placing them along with her textbook into her backpack. "Shall we?"

Well, I still felt myself drawn to Tifa even after she couldn't finish her tall mocha light frappuccino, since it was, as she put it, a little too strong in the coffee department. Jesus. It's espresso, woman, get it right. Needless to say, I finished off her tiny drink. Hey, it was light, ok? Axel has a fast metabolism. Axel has never gained a pound in his life from his chocolatey, espressoy indulgences, and never will. You can't blame a guy for his innocent vices.

We lingered at the coffee shop, discussing trivial matters and making small talk to pass the time. She told me about her parents and her adorable little brother and sister who had sent her freshly baked cookies in the mail.

"Wow, you're lucky! My little sis has never sent me so much as a postcard!" I shared.

"Well, it's not too late! Send her a sweet little letter and maybe she'll send you something back!" she exclaimed, "I've got some cute stationary that you can borrow!"

"Hah, me, Axel, send my little sister a letter? Neeever going to happen," I countered, "I'm sure she'd burn it and never read it. Besides, she actually goes to school here too. She's a junior now. That reminds me…" I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the notifications. "I was supposed to call and check up on her…"

"Oh! You don't live together?" Tifa inquired, cocking her head.

"No, no, **definitely** not. I lived with my sister for 18 years of my life, and I'm _done_," I explained, "Plus her room at home is just bursting with pink. Not my style." I shook my head and waved my hands in the air.

"I guess I understand. So where _do_ you live?" Tifa asked innocently.

"Oh, the Bricks," I answered. "I share an apartment with my best friend Demyx. My sister lives on the floor below us with a roommate the school paired her with. They emailed each other over the summer and met for the first time this weekend when drove down. They seem to be getting along well! Well," I hesitated, "at least over the internet. In real life, who knows."

"_Axel_," Tifa chided, drawing out my name's second syllable, "You have to _call_ her. What if it's all gone sour and she needs your support?" She sat back in her chair, crossed her arms and huffed. "God knows _my_ first roommate and I did _not_ get along. I was ready to kill her in her sleep by the end of the first month."

"What did you do about it?" I asked, interested in the drama (I told you, I am too curious for my own good and love to stick my nose into other peoples' lives).

"I punched her and requested a new roommate," she shrugged nonchalantly, as if that was something that happened every day.

Now _that_ was a shocker. I was certainly not expecting this black-haired beauty to resort to physical means to solve her problems.

"You _punched_ her?" I asked, incredulous, "As in, with your _fist_?"

"Yessir. I am fully trained in various forms of martial arts, as well as a proficient boxer," she smiled proudly. "I was quite the tomboy in my younger years. I still am, a bit."

This newfound information _quite_ made up for her aversion to coffee and/or espresso. I now held the opinion that Tifa was, quite frankly, awesome.

"Whoa."

"Yeah…" Tifa leaned back in and whispered to me with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, "Let's just say she took some time off from college to have some… cosmetic procedures done."

I burst into hearty laughter, causing some of the people in line at Starbucks to look over at us.

One of those people looking directly at me was Roxas. As others returned their attention to the menu or their friends or their phones, Roxas kept staring my way, head slightly cocked but otherwise expressionless.

Just my luck.

For some reason, and I couldn't exactly pinpoint why, don't ask me, I don't know, I really really _really_ didn't want Roxas to see me here, now, with Tifa, and before I had finished processing all my recent discoveries about him. I just wanted to avoid the whole situation. But I couldn't, of course. Roxas had seen me, obviously, and now I couldn't just ignore him, no matter how desperately I wanted to.

"I can't believe you, I'm surprised she didn't _sue_ you." I regained my cool, continuing the conversation with Tifa before stating, "Oh look!" I waved at Roxas, who's attention was still on me even as he approached the head of the line. He waved back, slowly, glancing away to order today's dose of caffeine.

Tifa turned to see the recipient of my wave. "A friend of yours?" she inquired, looking back at me.

I thought about that question for a second. Could I really call Roxas my friend at this point? I mean, we had shared some embarrassing moments. Or rather, he witnessed some of _my _very embarrassing moments. "Yeah…" I smiled, remembering yesterday's hijinks, "A new friend."

When the barista called out a very familiar description of a certain chocolate-flavored drink, Roxas claimed his frappuccino and walked over to where Tifa and I were sitting.

"Hey, Roxas!" I exclaimed, and turned towards my companion, "Tifa, this is Roxas. Now here's a man who appreciates a good mocha. Roxas, Tifa."

"Hello! Nice to meet you!" Tifa extended her hand in a sign of greeting, which Roxas shook firmly. Whew, I'm glad he also had a decent handshake.

"Nice to meet you," he said, glancing from Tifa to me and back. Oi.

"Can you stay and chat?" I asked him genteelly, motioning towards the empty chair next to me.

"I wish I could, but I… have to get to class… I have to finish up some work… statistics, you know?" he explained, "Sorry."

"Oh, no way! Who's your professor? Don't tell me you have Dr. Shinra?" Tifa burst out, looking up at him intently. It was then that I took a moment to really look at him – and holy frappuccino.

He was wearing normal clothes.

Well, normal with a hot punk originality. From the tight fitting stream-lined black skinny jeans to the black dress shirt with the first few buttons undone over a plain white tee, Roxas had a sexy dark look going on.

I hate that I'm about to tell you this, but I actually liked his style. And I _really_ liked how that outfit looked on him. _Wow_, I thought, _he looks h-_

I shook my head and forced myself back into reality, focusing on the conversation between my two new friends. Roxas had just revealed to Tifa that he was enrolled in the same statistics course as us, just during a different time slot.

"We should study together," I suggested, "This professor scares me. I don't even want to think about what the exams are going to be like."

"Yeah! We could have a little study group, with Demyx too!" Tifa nodded in agreement.

"Sure. That sounds… nice," Roxas confirmed, a fleeting smile on his lips, "Well, I'll see you guys later." He turned and walked away, mocha in hand. I stared as he exited Starbucks, watching him weave through people on his way to class, until not a glimmer of his golden hair could be seen through the crowd.

I collapsed on my bed after I finally made it through my last two classes. Ugh. Organic chemistry was _such_ a drag. I pulled my laptop onto my pillow and proceeded to log on to Facebook, ignoring the fact that Demyx was singing loudly and obnoxiously along to the music blaring from his speakers in his room across the door. If we ever get reported, he's taking the blame. I am not going to be expelled from the Bricks due to his 'artistic expression'.

I was expecting a severe headache to encroach within seconds when I saw something that considerably brightened my outlook on life at the moment.

Roxas was online. On Facebook. I could totally Facebook chat with Roxas if I so wanted.

Oh, I wanted.

_What's up?_, I typed, trying to contain my glee that I was talking with Mr. Antisocial (ok, so I still couldn't accept the fact that he _wasn't_ antisocial) himself online.

_Nm_, he replied, _hbu?_

_I'm hungryyy_, was my answer, since the only things on my mind were Roxas and my growling stomach (hey, what happened to Tifa? There was supposed to only be room in my brain for Tifa, damn it!). _Are you going to eat dinner again with us tonight?_

_Sure_, he answered. Roxas had joined our regular dinner group and was quickly becoming an accepted member of 'the gang.'

_Nice. Ugh, I need to get a snack though. _I huffed, rubbed my stomach, and rolled off my bed with my phone in hand. Trudging to the kitchen, I opened the fridge. Much to my dismay, there were no snacks in the fridge as Demyx and I had not made it to the grocery store. Groaning, I shut the door, leaned my forehead against the stainless steel fridge and _tap tap tapped _out _UGH, there's no FOOD in this APARTMENT! _on my phone. Then, inspired, I opened the fridge again and sent Roxas a quick pic of its emptiness.

The response I got from Roxas was merely an emoji rolling its eyes. I signed and sent him back a huffing face, stating, _this is serious!_

Again, a rolling eye emoji.

_Whatever_, I wrote, deciding to change the subject. _Ready to throw it down with some spiky-haired bastards on Friday night_? I asked, in reference to the upcoming Super Smash Brothers Ultimate tournament tomorrow night.

_Hell yes_, he replied. Ah, how I loved to light a fire in my little Roxas, who I still unreasonably believed to be emotionless, anti-social, and in need of my help in life. I liked to see the rebel in him (besides his pants).

_I, for one, can't wait_, I typed,_ I've been practicing with Demyx and Riku. Riku has the power to take Cloud down, I just know it… if he shows up. Which he better show up or we are going to fucking scale the goddamn building, break in through the window, and burn some popcorn in his microwave so that the fire alarm goes off (hence allowing Riku to take the blame and turning the entire building against him) and then hold a public Riku's underwear bonfire in the courtyard for all to see and hear. They'll be talking about it for decades. Hell, I bet we'll even be in the yearbook_.

_Haha _came Roxas' reply. Damn. I wish I could hear that sound through the computer. Roxas actually had a very endearing laugh in reality, when you got a chance to experience it, and a hearty chuckle. _Now I hope he **doesn't** show up_, Roxas messaged.

I liked this kid more and more each day, I swear. He had a sarcastic streak in him that could freeze the blood of a vampire, and a spark to his personality that really showed through when we were talking online. Maybe he found communicating through writing a bit easier than verbal interactions. Or maybe he just needed time to warm up to me. Since Monday night, when I had discovered Roxas had a Facebook, we had been having more frequent online conversations. Anyways, the point is, we were quickly becoming good friends, and we had only known each other for a few days.

I know, it's weird, but… I felt like Roxas and I… just kind of… clicked.

_And you'd actually pull it off. Unfortunately, I know that you'd drag me out the window with you…_

I chuckled to myself. Roxas knew me well enough by now to understand that when I proposed an idea, I went through with it, no matter how crazy and outrageous.

"Whatcha doin', Axel?" Demyx's familiar voice inquired from nearby. At that moment, I realized I was still standing in the kitchen, leaning forward with the tip of my forehead pressed to the cool metal of the refrigerator, smiling down at the phone held in my hands below.

"Just wondering where the food's at, Dem, and dying of hunger," I replied, straightening and walking past him.

"Hmmm… who ya chattin' with?" he asked teasingly, following and trying to get a look over my shoulder. "Is it a giiiiirrrlll?"

"Chill out, Dem," I told him and plopped onto the couch, continuing to type to Roxas. _You betcha, Roxy_, I replied. I have to admit, that nickname just popped into my mind, and I kind of liked it.

_Roxy?_ he inquired.

_Heh. It's my new nickname for you. Like it?_ I smirked in real life at my phone, then realized Demyx was crouching beside me and peering up at the device as well when he commented with a little too much chirp in his voice, "Ooooh, it's Roxas."

"Demyx!" I exclaimed and clutched the phone to my chest. "Have a little respect for my privacy!"  
"Please," Demyx replied, rolling his eyes and standing up, "It's college and we're roommates. There _is_ no privacy."

"Get outta here," I ordered and pointed fiercely toward the door, "Go buy us some food."

"Whatever, man," he ignored my command, picked up his guitar off the floor by the TV, and went into his room, waving his hand lazily at me.

After Demyx shut the door, I looked for Roxas's reply.

_… whatever_, came his indifferent response.

With that, I burst into full blown laughter, so loud and hearty that Demyx popped his head back out of his room and looked at me bemusedly. That response was so… Roxas-like.

"Roxy, Roxas" I whispered quietly to myself when Demyx retreated once again and began strumming on the guitar.

I liked the taste of his name.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for the read :) Leave a review? See ya soon.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hi again. Please enjoy :)

* * *

**CHAPTER 5: That Spiky-Haired Cumulonimbus of Evil is Going _Down_**

Friday night. The moment of truth had come. Would good prevail, or would evil, by the name of Cloud, take the victory?

**Never**.

Demyx cleared his throat. "Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Tournament of the FALL 2019 SEMESTER!" We all applauded – me, Roxas, Leon, Aerith, and Cloud (that fucking punk Riku was late). "May I present this year's contenders: First off, we have AXEL, the fierce, fiery, frappuccino – fanatic!"

Everyone applauded thunderously. I stood up and took a bow while Demy whistled. Hey, we take these tournaments seriously – we make the most of them.

Was it just me or did Roxas applaud just a little bit louder for me than the others that followed?

…it was probably just my arrogant self imagining things.

"Next up, we have Leon – the tenacious, tough, tennis-teacher!" Again, everyone applauded like mad, myself included. Leon had retired from the tennis team due the nasty accident that left him with that ghastly scar, and now worked for the on-campus gym teaching the children of professors and older graduate students the basics of tennis during daycare for about an hour each morning, before his classes started.

"Today is a very important occasion! We have a newcomer to our Smash ritual! Everyone, please welcome the funky, friendly, fresh ROXAS!"

I made sure I applauded the loudest. I also screeched like a schoolgirl at a rock concert watching her preferred male singer perform her favorite song on stage. Needless to say, Roxas flushed slightly and was a bit embarrassed about the attention he was receiving.

"Now, allow me to introduce myself! I am DEMYX, the dramatic, delirious, and deafening!"

He really hit the nail on head with that description

"Finally, last but certainly not least – _yet_ – I am unfortunately forced to introduce last year's champion," his voice lost all theatricality and he began to speak in practically a monotone. "Everyone welcome Cloud, the silent, the strong, the spiky."

Everyone began to clap, less enthusiastically, I'll admit, when we were interrupted by opera.

Damn Demyx and his ridiculous ringtone.

Dem flipped open his phone and answered, "Ello? Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure. The usual spot. Yeah, you're late. No, we won't wait for you."

I had a sneaking suspicion that Demyx was talking to Riku. So, I got up, walked to our open window, and whispered to Roxas, "Put on your ninja suit Rox, we gotta go raid a certain someone's room." He looked at me, mildly surprised.

Then, he got up and joined me at the window, smirking. He grabbed the edge of the wall and looked straight into my eyes.

"Say the word," he said challengingly, putting one hand on his hip.

I liked this kid more each day. He always did something unexpected.

"Listen, Riku, I recommend that you hurry the hell up because Axel is about to jump out the freaking window and do something abso-fucking-lutely crazy. He is seriously about to spaz. I can see him twitching. Mmmhmm. Yeah. You remember that time Leon touched his mocha?" Suddenly, Demy's voice grew louder and higher pitched, sounding desperate, "I swear, get your goddamn ass over here man, he's – oh _shit_, Roxas, STOP HIM, DAMMIT GET OFF THE WINDOWSILL AXEL OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL – "

And then came the frantic knocking at the door.

You see, Riku had a history of ditching our little get-togethers in favor of studying. What the hell? Could he have been a bigger nerd? I mean, he was so frickin' _cool_ – not only did he have the most badass silver hair – don't ask me how he does it, I couldn't tell you – but he had the silent, brooding thing going on as well. He was wanted by all the girls, and respected by all the boys. I hate to admit it, but if he were single he would probably usurp my position of most eligible bachelor on campus.

Oh yeah, one last important detail: He was dating my sister, Kairi. Which gave me the right to torment and punish him at will.

Hey, a guy's gotta protect his little sis, now doesn't he?

I had long ago threatened to burn everything he held dear if he even _thought_ about hurting Kairi. - and he knew I meant _business_.

Hopping off the windowsill, I dashed to the door, rushing past Demyx before he had a chance to speak or even hang up the telephone, leaving him speechless and with his mouth hanging open. In fact, I think everyone in the room was quite shocked. Except Roxas. He had been forewarned.

I flung the door open to find midsentence Riku, cellphone glued to his ear, hair windblown from what I assume was a mad dash from the other end of the floor (yes, even though his room was on the same floor I had still planned to break and enter via window, hopping from balcony to balcony), complete with a crazed look on his face.

I loomed above him, using my height to its full advantage. "You're LATE," I boomed, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF, YOUNG MAN?!"

It was then that I noticed the short, brunette, boy standing next to him, looking dumbfounded and with a distinct trace of fear in his eyes.

Glancing the brunette's way, I directed a question at Riku: "And who is _this_?"

Riku looked up at me, clicking on the call and regaining his composure. "_This_," he gestured towards the brown-haired boy, "is my friend Sora. You can calm down now, Axel, I'm here."

He brushed past me coolly and stepped into the room. "Sorry I'm late, guys," he continued, as if I hadn't just almost climbed out a window to teach him a lesson for being late. "This is Sora. Sora, let me introduce you to Leon, Cloud, Demyx, and Roxas." He gestured to each of them in turn. Riku had met Roxas when he decided to grace us with his presence at dinner on Wednesday night. "And this is –"

"The infamous Axel," I interrupted, closing the door, "and I don't approve of your choice of friends, Sora. Riku is baaad news, I'm afraid."

"Axel, **shut up** for once, would you?" Riku verbally attacked me.

Ouch. Now that one bruised my ego.

"Excuse me?" I questioned, waking up and towering over Riku menacingly, "Just who the hell do you think you are, punk?"

"Guys, CHILL. Axel, seriously, shut the hell up. Riku, don't provoke him, he's very sensitive, you know. Sora, NICE TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEET YOU!" Of course Demyx sang the last part.

"Hi guys!" Sora smiled and waved, "It's nice to meet all of you. Sorry, it's my fault Riku is late. He was waiting for me downstairs… I got a little lost… this campus is huge!"

"Oh, so you're a freshman?" Leon asked.

"No, but I've only ever lived in the dorms, so I've never been to this end of campus," Sora explained "Plus I just have a reallyyy bad sense of direction."

"_Really_, unbelievably bad," Riku affirmed, nodding his head.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed, and although he elbowed Riku his soft smile revealed no anger. Riku chuckled and rubbed the spot where Sora made contact.

"Adorable," I commented dryly, "Now can we get to the main event please?" Riku only glared in response.

"Cool," Demyx broke the tension, "I guess that makes Sora the youngest one here!"

"Ok, cut the small talk, Dem, and give us the line-up. I'm itching to _burn_ some fluffy golden cumulonimbus ass," I cut in, gesturing towards the piece of paper lying on Demyx's desk. He swiveled around in his chair and picked up a pencil, making some adjustments.

"Did he just call you a cumulonimbus?" Leon questioned Cloud.

"…I think he did," Cloud agreed.

"Are you going to let him get away with that?"

"_Hell_ no."

"Ahem!" Demyx cleared his throat in an obvious attempt to gain our attention. "I have finalized the brackets for today's match. Since Riku let me know an hour ago that he was bringing a friend, the order includes Sora. Today's tournament shall consist of three rounds of one-on-one all-out _brawling_. For round one, we have the following line-up: CLOUD VERSUS LEON! DEMYX VERSUS ROXAS! AXEL VERSUS RIKU! Sora will face either Axel or Riku in the second round. Is that clear?"

Roxas shook his head and laughed a little to himself. He had long since relinquished his post by the window and settled himself comfortably on the couch. I plopped myself down next to him.

I was totally going to impress Roxas with my skills.

Or I would have, if he hadn't wiped the floor with my skinny (yet strangely sexy) ass.

Let me back up a little bit.

Of course I pummeled Riku (punishment for his lateness) in the first round, and then took down Sora (who is _terrible _at Smash by the way. Why the hell did Riku invite him?) in the second, with my character, Princess Zelda (hey, she's kinda hot. Ok, that was totally kind of weird).

Little Roxas turned out to be more feisty than I gave him credit for. He beat the crap out of Demyx and then, HOLY FRAPPUCCINO, he murdered Cloud right in front of the Temple of Time. No shit.

So then it was my turn to face this little god of the Smash world (playing as Link, of course), and I got burned. Baaaad. He totally whooped my derriere, and much to my embarrassment, he only needed like a minute to do it. Isn't Zelda supposed to be Link's love interest or something? Couldn't Nintendo have worked in a little mercy on Link's part towards the fragile Zelda?

And why was I the **woman** in this relationship?

Because if Roxas were _my_ love interest, I would totally be –

And that's enough of this conversation.

"_Damn_, Roxas, how did you _do_ that?" I asked, awestruck, "You even beat _Cloud_ – you've just made Super Smash Brothers History!"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Years of practice, I guess."

"_Damn_," Leon echoed, "It seems a new master has presented himself."

"All hail the King of Smash!" Demyx trilled, bowing before Roxas with his usual dramatic flair. Roxas just smiled and shook his head as the rest of us chuckled and rolled our eyes at Demyx's antics.

We spent the rest of the night casually gaming and chatting. Demyx made ten bags of popcorn (hey, we're big boys and we like our popcorn) without setting the fire alarm off. Thank God. Last time he did that the floor didn't speak to us for a week (that was at the end of last year. We now live on a different floor, in a different building with different people who don't know about these and other little… incidents). I was sprawled out vertically, legs up over the back of the couch, watching my friends' game upside down. Halfway into a two-on-two match that involved Roxas and Riku versus Cloud and Sora, my cell phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of me. I picked it up and lifted it over my head, to discover a text message from the ever so lovable Tifa.

"Well hello there," I crooned to my phone, gazing seducingly at it, earning a puzzled look from Roxas, who was sitting next to me, before he reimmersed himself in the match.

"I know that look," Leon commented from a beanbag chair on the floor and curiously trying to get a glimpse of my phone, "Which girl is it this time? Olette? Yuna? Paine? Selphie? Etc.?"

Roxas glanced at us briefly as he executed a stellar combo.

I rolled on my side and stuck my legs out over the armrest of the couch and huddled against my phone, its screen now pointing solidly away from Leon ."Leon, my friend," I corrected, "_Tifa_ is no girl. She is a **woman**. And a feisty one at that."

"Oh no," Leon said, "Just your type. How long until you break this one's heart?"

Roxas uncharacteristically let Link take a series of blows on the screen.

"Excuse me," I said, "I can't help it if I was born a natural heartbreaker. But did you ever consider the possibility that this one's here to stay? Hmmmm?" I looked at him accusatorily.

Roxas fell off the platform.

"Watch it Rox!" I warned, turning my attention back to the game.

"What did she say?" Demyx asked, always the gossip monger. Trust me, he knows everything there is to know about everybody. When I need blackmail material, I go to him (Don't ask. Really.).

"She just wanted to know what time we're meeting for coffee tomorrow morning," I elaborated slowly, drawing them into my story.

"And…?" Demxy intoned eagerly.

"I'm going to tell her 11:00."

"And…?"

"And what?"

"Are you going somewhere after coffee?!" Demyx just couldn't contain his enthusiasm.

"Maybe the movies, if I can persuade her," I smirked. I was quite confident in my ability to sway a girl any way I wanted.

"Oooh," came Demyx's sound effect.

"WE LOST?" the cry resounded throughout the room, halting our conversation, "Roxas! I thought you were supposed to be the champion!"

"…Oooh, sorry," Roxas apologized hesitantly, staring the television screen, "Can't win 'em all, right?" he tried, ineffectively, to appease his temporary partner Riku (the sore loser).

"Well, you're still king, Roxas," I commented, ensuring that Cloud stayed in his place, which was down on the ground, baby.

Roxas was silent and thoughtful for the rest of the night, never losing another match.

"Watcha thinking about?" I asked him when neither of us was playing.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then closed it.

"...it's… nothing. It's not important… for now," he finally settled upon, answering my question.

"Alright," I replied, deciding not to push any further, "But if you need anything, just ask, ok?"

"Thanks," he answered, letting a small, wry smile slip.

There was something in that smile I didn't understand.

Something that intrigued me.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Comments, reviews, all is appreciated. If you love, hate, or just feel meh about this story, let me know!

I'm almost done writing a one shot that I'll post soon. I hope ya'll will check it out too.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Oops, I forgot to upload here. Just a note, this story is also on Ao3, and I always update there first. Thanks for reading!

CHAPTER SIX: And then… it hit me

Our trip to the mall passed without further incident. Unless, of course, you count my psychotic urge to swing on the low-hanging branches of the fake palm trees in the mall and the fact that I acted upon said urge, traveling Tarzan-style from faux flora to faux flora. Let's just say that Kairi was so steamingly mad that she had to buy a $134 purse in order to 'calm down.'

Eventually we made our way to Macy's, where Tifa made a beeline for the returns desk. I wandered off to the men's section, thinking that I could use a new belt. Perusing the wallets and accessories, I felt a strange psychic connection with Roxas when I saw a black-and-white checkered wristband, in all its studded glory, with a 50% off Clearance sticker. Welp, I just couldn't help myself.

I bought it.

"That's cute," Tifa chirped after she re-grouped with me, looking over my shoulder as the clerk rang up my purchase. "Put it on," she suggested after we exited the store.

"It's… for Roxas," I heard myself saying, realizing I had intended just that from the moment I saw the wristband.

"Oh…" she hesitated, "That's really nice of you, Axel." Then she looked at me. "Is he like, your best friend?"

"Nah," I replied, "Well - it's funny. We just met each other a week ago, but we really click, you know?"

She nodded, "I know. That's kind of how I felt when I met you, Axel. I think we really click! I really like you, Mr. Axel."

Oh.

OH.

SHIT.

"Well, thank you, Ms. Tifa, you've quite made my day," I replied smoothly, trying to avoid a potentially disastrous situation. Don't get me wrong, it made me happy to hear that, but I wasn't about to bite just yet. "Now I think it's time to go meet the girls outside of… Where again?"

"Forever 21."

"Ugh." I groaned at the sky. "I'm praying to God they're done."

During the drive back to campus, I thought deeply about where I wanted to take my relationship with Tifa. She was a great girl, really, but there was something nagging at me. I just couldn't catch the flying thought.

For some reason, I had this disturbing feeling that… there may have been someone else I wanted to hear "I really like you, Axel," from. But who could that be? There was really only one other person on my mind those days.

Ok, I'll confess.

I'm not stupid.

Just maybe… in denial.

A few more weeks passed without incident. Our Friday gatherings continued without fail, and sometimes Roxas and I crossed paths on our way to and from classes. And on certain occasions I intentionally walked a certain way knowing it increased my likelihood of running into my little friend. Don't tell me you've never done that before. No judging.

"Hey Rox," I greeted as I walked up beside him on my way to the food court for lunch. He looked at me startled.

"Oh, hey Ax," Roxas looked at me and grinned widely, popping one of his earphones out. "What's up?"

"Nothin', just getting lunch. Oh, I have to tell you," I paused as I avoided colliding with a girl practically running in the opposite direction, "I laughed for like five minutes straight at that snap you sent me of the cat. Oh my god." I had, indeed, laughed like a fool in front of my phone during a break between classes this morning when Roxas snapchatted a cat accosting some ducklings in front of the education building.

Roxas laughed at the memory. "That was great."

We continued to chat as we made our way together to the food court, complaining about tests and homework and essays, and how my experiment in lab just wasn't turning out right. Then the conversation changed to video games, and some YouTube videos I had watched to perfect my Smash techniques.

"Huh. I'll have to practice that," Roxas commented thoughtfully, then took a sip from his soda.

"Wanna come over tonight to play?" I suggested, "If you don't have too much work to do."

"Sure," he agreed, then looked at his phone. "Ugh" he huffed, "My partners for this lesson plan group project are messaging me. This project is a _mess_. One partner doesn't show up for any meetings, another doesn't participate in the chat, and the third is a _terrible_ writer. If he does the report, we'll fail." Roxas swiped the messages away and rubbed his eyes.

I frowned at this news. I could totally relate to the predicament of unreliable, deadbeat group project partners. "Is there any way I can help?" I asked, "What's the lesson about?"

Roxas perked up at that. "Well, not to bother you, but it _is_ a science lesson… do you think I could bounce some ideas off you?"

"Totally!" I exclaimed, "Science is my forte! Plus I'm the best TA ever, meaning I am more than qualified to help with your project."

Roxas rolled his eyes while smiling. "Ok, arrogance aside, thank you. I really appreciate it. It's hard for me to figure out how to teach some of these thing to kids when I'm not totally familiar with the concepts anymore."

"You could watch me teach one of the labs," I suggested, "Although it's not really the same thing as teaching kids, it might give you some ideas. Also, there are some really basic experiments kids can do to learn foundational concepts, and you don't even need any fancy equipment. If you want, I can show you. I'm TAing a lab tomorrow afternoon, actually."

"Hmm," Roxas intoned, thinking, "That could work. What time?"

"One."

"Ok," he nodded vigorously, "Let's do it." He stood with his tray. "Gotta go now. Thanks, Ax. You're the best."

"Duh," I agreed as he began to walk away. "Hey, you're still coming tonight, right?" I called after him.

"Duh!" came his reply as he waved at me.

With Roxas observing me the next day, I was feeling uncharacteristically nervous as I began the afternoon's lesson with the freshmen. Normally my white labcoat would lend me confidence, but today I struggled to summon my usual charisma. I began with a brief overview of the experiment, covering the basic concepts the students were supposed to learn from this project, the techniques they would use, and the chemical reactions they would witness. I showed them some of the math on the whiteboard and then I set them free to begin working with a partner to follow the instructions in the lab book to finish the experiment.

After I made my first round among the students to make sure everyone knew what they were doing (and that they had their goggles on) and were starting the experiment, I returned to the front of the classroom where Roxas was sitting off to the side in a chair. Now that I was no longer teaching from the front, he scooted his chair up to the desk and continued writing vigorously in his notebook.

"So, how are you liking the class so far?" I asked, sitting at the desk next to him, facing the class so I could keep an eye on them. Also so I could not stare at Roxas wearing regular jeans for once, and not notice how good they looked on him. He must have decided to tone down his look for my lab today.

"It's great!" he chirped, and looked up from his notes. "I got some good ideas and now I really think I know where to start with my lesson plan."

"Awesome!" I exclaimed, and held out my fist for a fist-bump, which to my delight he reciprocated.

"Um, Axel?" a shy girl with brown hair walked up to the desk, clutching her spiral lab workbook to her chest. "Can you take a look at our beaker? Something is wrong because the solution isn't turning blue…"

"Of course," I told her and stood, "Are you sure you weighed out the right amount of zinc shavings?" I excused myself to Roxas and followed the girl to her lab bench, pulling on my safety goggles. Peering into her beaker, through the bubbling concoction I noticed that Roxas was watching me wistfully, leaning his chin on his hand and his elbow on the table. Feeling heat distinct from that generated by the Bunsen burner fill my cheeks, I looked away quickly.

"Hand me the thermometer?" I asked the student, and she did as instructed. My hands shook a little as I took the thermometer from her and placed it in the beaker to read the temperature. "Hmmm," I murmured, "It's not hot enough. Turn the heat up." The girl nodded in reply and moved to follow my instructions. I explained to her that the reaction wouldn't occur until the solution reached a high enough temperature, but I kept pausing unnecessarily to gather my thoughts every time I was distracted by Roxas gazing at me. My thoughts were sluggish and my stomach did a flip flop as I turned to help another student with a question, and I mismeasured something at one point. Shaking my head and apologizing to the student, I helped him start that part of the process over. After helping two or three more pupils, I returned to Roxas, who was chewing on the end of his pen while looking absentmindedly off into the distance.

_Damn, _I thought, _he's cute when he's thinking._

Roxas looked up at me, startled as I approached. "Sorry about that," I apologized, "Had to answer a few more questions."

"Oh, no problem," he reassured, shaking his head and holding his hands out, palms out, waving them around. "This is great, I get to observe a science lesson in action." I chuckled and sat next to him, leaning back. "You know…" he paused mid-thought, played with a spike of his hair, "You seem like a really good teacher."

"Duh," I confirmed, putting my hands behind my head.

Roxas rolled his eyes at me again. That seemed to be his standard reaction these days to many of my antics.

"No, I _mean_ it. You're really patient and you explain things well. Plus you have the _look_, with the lab coat and everything," he explained as he made some notes on the pad in front of him, looking down so (I assume) I wouldn't see the faint blush rising in his cheeks. "Maybe you should be a teacher," he declared, finishing a sentence with a flourish and tap of his pen.

"Hmmm," I mused aloud, flattered but not sure how to react, "Not exactly what I had in mind, but I'll think about it."

"What _do _you have in mind?" Roxas inquired, transferring his attention back to me and putting his pen behind his ear.

"Research in the lab, preferably drug research." I shrugged. "I know that's a vague plan, but I have an independent work study going on this year to help me get into a lab in a graduate program. I have a couple in mind I'm going to apply for."

"Huh. Well, that's cool too." Then Roxas sighed. "I'm jealous. I want to wear a lab coat."

I laughed. "What's so special about a lab coat?"

"I just like them!" he asserted defensively, glaring at me.

"Ok, ok!" I held my hands out to placate him. "Ok, I gotta make a final round and make sure the lab gets cleaned up. Wait for me?"

"Of course," Roxas confirmed. "I'm not going anywhere."

_Sigh_.

"Damn, Axel, that was a heavy sigh," Demyx commented from behind me. We were both working on assignments for class, sitting at our kitchen table, engrossed in our books and notes.

"I'm so confuuuuuuuuuuuuuused," I moaned, banging my head against the laptop keyboard and typing nonsense into my spreadsheet. Ouch. Bad idea.

"Orgo?" he questioned.

"Blaaaaaaaaaaah," I groaned. Little did he know I was confused about more than just the results of my latest orgo lab experiment.

I thought about the Macy's bag that was still sitting on my dresser, hidden behind the TV. More than a month after that shopping trip, I still couldn't work up the nerve to give the wristband to Roxas. My anxiety about it only increased the more I hung out with Roxas, the more I got to know him and the more my feelings for him continued to evolve and evade my control. Ugh. Why did I even buy it anyway? _He's going to think it's stupid, and that I'm weird for giving it to him_, I thought, _he's going to think that I – _

That was it. I _needed_ to get out of this room, away from that lab report, and deal with my damn problems already. I pulled out my cell phone.

_Busy?_ I messaged Roxas.

_No. Why?_ came his response a few seconds later.

_Starbucks? I need to take a break from this report._

_Now? I'm at the library, but I can meet you there if you want._

_Meet me in ten minutes then?_ I asked.

_Sure_.

Upon receiving that final text message, I took a quick glance in the mirror (I looked flawless, as usual), grabbed the Macy's bag from its semi-hiding place, shoved it into my backpack and told Demyx I was going to Starbucks.

"Hey," I greeted Roxas when I joined him at the end of the Starbucks line.

"Hey," he said back, looking at me questioningly, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just needed to get out," I explained, "Thanks for meeting me."

"I understand," Roxas said, nodding solemnly, "It was about time for me to take a study break anyways."

"Calc test?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow. He nodded, then turned around to order his beverage.

We ordered the same drink. Roxas even asked for whipped cream. I think I've had a good effect on him, no?

"Whipped cream?" I inquired as we settled into a pair of plush chairs in the far corner of the café, "Feeling daring today, Roxy?"

He scowled at the name. I smirked.

"I thought I should try it. I mean, you love it so much…" he trailed off, sipping his drink.

We sat in companionable silence for a few moments, both of us just enjoying the bliss that is Starbucks. Finally I cleared my throat.

"So I was at the mall the other day…" ok, so, small lie… "andIsawthisonsaleandthoughtwowthislookslikesomethingRoxaswouldlikeandsomethinghewouldtotallywearbecauseit'sjust-so-RoxasanditwasonclearanceandIjustcouldn'thelpmyselfIjustcouldn'tI'manimpulsiveshoppersometimes,it'sreallyaverybadhabitbutsothisiskindofforyou-" I rushed, troubled to find the right worlds to say.

"Eh?" Roxas said, looking slightly confused, "Could you repeat that?"

I laughed at the look on his face and was instantly at ease. "This is for you, Roxas. I saw it and just couldn't help myself," I said, pushing the bag towards him, "I thought, this looks like something Roxas would wear."

"For _me_?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh my god, just open it dude," I huffed out and waggled the bag to distract him from the blush creeping across my cheeks.

Roxas slowly opened the bag and pulled out the black and white checkered wrist band. He looked at it for a moment and then smiled.

Roxas _smiled_.

"Thanks Axel. I –" he paused for a second, swallowing, "really like it. That was… nice of you."

"No problem… it was on sale, remember?" I reinforced, trying to pass off the gesture and waved my hands around, even as I flushed with pleasure. _He likes it_, I thought happily to myself.

"So are you saying you wouldn't spend full price on me?" he teased (_flirtatiously_?), smirking at me confidently, almost causing me to lose comprehension of his words. "Actually, I have a confession to make." His smile faded back into the blank, emotionless expression I had encountered that first ominous date.

My heart started to beat a little faster.

I felt a little tickle trail down my spine.

There was a little lightning in my stomach.

"Y-yes?" I stammered, trying to focus on his words and not just on his gorgeous blue eyes and the unfamiliar feelings blossoming in my rib cage.

"You know how I have a tendency to wear… slightly outrageous pants?" he asked.

That snapped me back to reality.

"Yes," I said, frowning a little and glancing down at the black and yellow pinstriped pants gracing his lower half today.

"Well… I won't deny that they're part of my style and I really do love them, but… Axel…" he leaned in a little closer. My pulse raced and I had to tear my eyes from his lips so I could listen attentively to his syllables. "…and don't you tell this to _anyone_, but…" he came closer and I felt as if my heart were going to spontaneously combust at any second, "…my sister picked them out."

"_WHAT_?!" I yelped a little too loudly, my mouth dropping, all thoughts of Roxas's delicious mocha-caressed lips pushed to the back of my mind, "Get _out_ of here!_"_ I cried and banged my hands firmly down on the table.

"No…" Roxas trailed off, avoiding my eyes.

I sat back in my chair, musing for a second. Then I let out a deep laugh which rumbled through me for a good minute. Soon my mirth infected Roxas, who couldn't resist laughing along, his cheeks dimpling adorably as he did so. "That has got to be the best damn secret anyone has ever told me." I gasped when I regained control of myself.

"Seriously?" Roxas questioned, chuckling. God, I loved that sound. He visibly relaxed, letting his previously tense shoulders fall back to their natural position. "Isn't it kind of… embarrassing, though?"

"A bit," I admitted, laughing gently, "but it's actually very endearing. It's incredibly cute that you wear clothes picked out for you by your sister, Rox."

He laughed easily, flushing a little. "Yeah… well, first of all, I _hate _shopping. Combine it with Larxene being an extremely protective older sister with exotic tastes, aaaand you have my fashion. She loves to send me packages…"

"Exotic tastes? Ooh, sounds like my type," I joked, grinning "If she's anything like you, Rox, I'd love to meet her."

His eyes narrowed and he frowned slightly. "She's married and lives in New York," he grumbled sourly.

"Whoa, Roxy, no worries, I'm just teasing. I would _never_ hit on a married woman," I reassured and waved wildly with my hands, while mentally chiding myself _Why the fuck did you say that Axel?_ "She's safe from my charms."

_But you aren't_, I thought.

Oh.

Shit.

Did I just admit that to myself?

"That's not…" he murmured, then looked up at me. His face resumed what I had once assumed was his characteristically emotionless expression. "Well, Axel, I need to study some more for my test tomorrow, so… see you later?"

"Yeah," I nodded, uneasy, "Hey, are you going back to the Bricks? I'll walk with you."

He hesitated, then smiled apologetically, "Nah. I can't get any studying done when my roommate's home, and I really need to ace this test. I'm gonna head back to the library."

"Aw, ok," I replied in disappointment, my face falling. "See ya later then, Rox."

"See ya, Ax. And thanks again." He waved the bag gently. And then he turned, and we headed off in different directions.

_SHIT SHIT SHIT_, I thought as I walked home alone. I was deep in thought, hands in my pockets, occasionally kicking stones I found along the path.

_WHAT, AXEL, IS YOUR PROBLEM?_ Not only had I just kinda sorta admitted something to myself that I had kinda sorta kept in check, in denial, for quite a while now, but then I just had to joke about how his _sister_ was my type. Well, for the record, I _had_ said that I was interested if she was like _Roxas_, but still.

That's not something you say to your current object of affection. Not at all.

STUPID ME.

That was _no way_ to seduce Roxas.

WHAT?

Now that was just a little too much. I wasn't out to seduce Roxas, just…

Oh, _hell_.

Now I really don't want to admit this, and don't tell anyone, because I'm not quite sure myself yet, and I really will just _die_ if anyone finds out, or rather I will kill anyone who knows, and I don't know how it happened, or when it happened, or why, but…

"AW, TO HELL WITH IT!" I cried up at the sky, waving my hands in the air, oblivious to any late-night stragglers who might be sharing the pathways with me.

I had, I think… a tiny crush on my little blonde friend.

Tiny.

Really really really small.

Infinitesimal, I swear.

Probably just a brief infatuation because of his wicked style.

And because it's just so goddamn _adorable_ that he wears clothes picked out for him by his big sister.

And because he's got the most gorgeous ice blue eyes and the quickest, harshest, snarkiest wit and the most enticing laugh and stunning smile and we really just click, and for heaven's sake the boy loves venti mocha frappaccinos with extra shots of espresso and he even started to put whipped cream on top _because of me_ and now I hope I'm not flattering myself but I really truly think that he smiles more and _laughs_ more when he's around me and he has more facebook friends than me and we just have _fun_ together and he's mysterious and aloof and _cool_ and kind of a loner but not really and… Ugh, this is so cheesy, and I am _so _done with this train of thoughts.

Oh, but I forgot to mention one thing - he wears the _hottest_ pants.

It's true.

And Axel can't help but stare, baby.

Later, I rolled around in my bed, distressed. What was the source of these feelings? Was it truly a "like"? A "crush"? More? Was this merely a paranoid side effect of seeing photos of Roxas's past relationship with another man online? Or was this the real deal?

"Well, it must be real if I'm still up thinking about it," I muttered out loud to no one, then covered my hands with my eyes and jiggled my legs a bit. "I really am going crazy. Talking to myself and all."

Truly, I couldn't remember ever feeling something like this for another guy. Although, I guess it could explain why my past relationships failed? Or those instances could be unrelated to this and more likely attributed to youth, or foolishness, or overconfidence, etc. etc. etc. and all the other things wrong with me.

"Whatever," I mumbled and flipped onto my stomach, burying my face in my pillow, wishing I could disappear into its warmth and fluff and re-emerge at graduation and never have to deal with this.

"Ugh, what are people going to think when – " I started grumbling, but then quickly stopped myself. _Let's not count our chickens before they hatch, Axel. He might not like you _that _way. And then nothing will ever come of this and things will go back to normal_.

Right?

"A package…" Roxas murmured thoughtfully as he pulled a yellow slip from his mailbox a few days later. "From Larxene…"

"From your sister?" I inquired, peering eagerly over his shoulder, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know… more clothes, maybe?" he shrugged and waved the slip in the air.

"As in, crazy awesome outrageous obnoxious pants?" I asked him to clarify as we walked together towards the front desk, me to his left.

"Probably," he nodded, his eyes brightening at the prospect.

"Hey Zex," I greeted as we reached the counter behind which the bored, slate-gray haired attendant sat, reading a book.

"Hey Ax," he replied, barely glancing up.

"Working hard I see," I teased and grinned, crossing my arms on the counter. Zexion merely rolled his eyes behind his book and flipped a page.

To my right, Roxas cleared his throat. "I, uh, have a package," he intoned, waving the yellow slip in the air where Zexion could see.

"I see…" Zexion put his book down and squinted at Roxas. "And you are?"

"Zexion, this is Roxas," I introduced smoothly, "Roxas, this is grouchy old Zexion." I took the slip from Roxas and waved it around over Zexion's open book, now on the counter.

"I am neither grouchy nor old," Zexion grumbled and snatched the paper from my hand, heading behind a partition and grumbling darkly to himself. I chuckled and turned to Roxas, whispering, "Don't worry, he's a softie on the inside." He just raised an eyebrow at me amusedly.

A few minutes, some shuffling around, and barely stifled chuckles later, Zexion emerged from behind the partition triumphantly holding up a box _covered_ in ridiculous and completely embarrassing shiny foil bright red heart stickers. (Kairi would _murder_ me if I ever sent her anything like that. Hmmm, maybe I should…).

"Found it," he declared, placing it on the counter. He took a binder out from a cubby and flipped to the last page, where Roxas' name and room number could be found. "Just sign here please," he asked patiently, handing Roxas a pen.

Roxas blushed, signed and grabbed the box as quickly as possible, thanking Zexion and zipping towards the elevator. Before following, I glanced at Zex and said, "Yo, Zex, you wanna come for Smash on Friday?"

Zex both visibly and audibly sighed deeply. "I suppose I could grace you with my presence for once. If I finish this book."

I scowled at him. "Please, you have like one chapter left." I turned my back to him, headed towards the elevators and waved at Zexion over my shoulder. "See you Friday. Be there or be square!" I called as the elevator dinged and Roxas headed inside. I grinned amusedly when I heard Zexion grumble something under his breath like "I'd rather be square."

Entering the elevator, I pressed 5, and saw that Roxas had pressed 3, for his floor. As we headed up and approached Roxas's destination, he looked up at me through his bangs. "Hey…" he began.

"Yeah?" I filled in the silence.

"Do you want to come see what's in the package?"

I grinned devilishly. "Why, I would love to, Roxy."

Roxas scowled at me as the doors opened and headed out first. "Never mind, I take it back."

"What!" I cried indignantly and bounded after him.

"That nickname is the _worst_," he explained. "Please stop using it."

"But Roxyyy," I teased as we approached his door.

"Axel." He stopped mid-hallway and turned to look at me, blank expression on his face.

"Yes?" I asked, my heartrate elevating _just a tad_.

"If you call me Roxy one more time, I am going to punch you out." He declared with gusto, then whirled around and made a beeline for the door to his apartment.

I stared and willed my feet to follow, forcing my lungs to breathe again. Roxas had been _so close_ when he said that, and the way his face changed from blank to filled with ferocity and fire made something inside me quake quite unlike ever before.

"Geez, ok, ok I get it," I muttered, trying to sound natural, "Chill out. I won't do it again."

"_Good_." Roxas confirmed, then threw the door to his apartment open and headed inside. "Come on in."

"Is your roommate home?" I asked Roxas.

"Nah, Hayner has rugby practice right now," Roxas replied, "so it's safe to open the package."

I laughed and closed the door behind me, feeling kind of special knowing that Roxas had entrusted me with such a… sensitive secret. And now, he was going to share with me something he shared with no one.

He would show me, alone.

In his apartment. Probably in his room.

Me. Roxas. Room.

Alone?

WHAT.

_Ok, calm down, just act like the smooth, sexy gentleman that you are and remain focused_, I mentally lectured myself, _nothing will ever come of this brief infatuation, which by the way is probably just a brief hallucination induced by mocha-overindulgence_.I stopped briefly after turning the lock behind me, tugging nervously at some wayward wisps of hair framing my face. _Wait, no_, my panicked mind thought, _don't act sexy! What are you doing Axel?!_

And if it was real, it was certainly only one-sided. Right? _Ugh. _ I shook my head and turned around to face Roxas. _Don't think about that. Chill and remain in _CONTROL _and do NOT do_ _something crazy and outrageous and spontaneous._

Hah. I, Axel, chill out?

I, good sir, was f-u-c-k-e-d if I thought I could restrain myself from doing something insane that I would regret later.

I have a fiery spirit, ok?!

Anyways.

Roxas deposited his keys on a counter and then waved to me from a doorway to the right of the kitchen table. "Nice place," I remarked coolly as I crossed the living room, "Oh, I _so _want to sink into that bean bag chair."

"Sure thing," Roxas assented as I crossed through the threshold into his room and sat gingerly on his bed, turning my attention to the bright red box that Roxas put on his desk.

"Open it!" I urged, eager to see what was inside. Roxas took a pair of scissors and sliced carefully through the packing tape holding the cardboard cube together, finally pulling it open to reveal…

A dark purple pair of skinny jeans, complete with chains and straps hanging from the back pockets.

"Roxas…" I whispered, "In the words of my little sister, 'omg'. Try them on. NOW," I ordered him, certain that the pants would fit his figure _perfectly_.

"Alright," he said, "go out in the living room."

I flushed a tad walked out the door and closed it behind me, respecting his privacy.

"Ok!" Roxas declared as he threw the door open when he was done changing, "What do you think? Did Larxene pick a winner?"

Hell mother-effing yes. I whistled.

"_Damn_, Roxas, where does your sister shop, because those pants are _fire_," I told him forcefully as he began to squirm a little.

"Thanks," he said, keeping his tone indifferent, running a hand through his hair in a nervous gesture, looking at the floor firmly.

"No, _seriously_, Rox," I asserted, and he glanced at me, "You look damn _sexy_ in those pants."

Whoops. Did I just say that? Out loud? To Roxas?

…

Oh my.

Roxas blushed.

Wait. What?

Roxas adjusted one of his blonde spikes, keeping his eyes glued to the floor as he mumbled a quick and embarrassed, "Thanks."

Fondness for Roxas rushed through me, and suddenly I had the urge to see his gorgeous blue eyes looking at me, hypnotized and unblinking as I drew closer, gazing at me, _only me_ -

Ahem.

And you know how I am with my urges.

"Roxas…" I whispered, barely audible yet loud and clear in the silent room. He slowly looked up to meet my piercing look. We stared at each other for a second. I was entranced by the look in his eyes, the distant stirring of emotion. I could tell as he tugged at his bangs that he struggled to maintain his slowly fading expressionless façade. "I think… I think there's something I need to tell you…" I breathed, walking a step towards him, "Listen… I… I think I –"

And then, cliché of all clichés, I heard the faint sound of a key turning in the lock of Roxas' front door. Roxas' eyes darted nervously through the doorway towards the source of the noise.

"Hey Roxas – oh, hey Axel – what's up guys?" Hayner, Roxas's fairly normal roommate, greeted us.

"Just hanging out. Killing some time until my next class," I said smoothly, turning around to face Hayner, to whom Roxas had previously introduced me at one of our weekly Smash meetups. Hayner walked over and we exchanged pleasantries. Shortly thereafter, I put one hand in my pocket and used the other to wave to Roxas and then Hayner. "Well, I gotta get to lab. Experiments are calling! Later!" As I reached for the door, I glanced back at Roxas, "See ya later, Roxas," I said gently, and smiled at him in what I hoped was proper devastating fashion. With that, I took my leave, heading back down the hall and into the elevator, cursing myself all the while.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7: In which Sora makes a brief but scandalous appearance

"_Damn it_," I hissed as I furiously jammed the button labeled thirteen in the elevator.

What the hell was I thinking?

Axel does _not_, under any circumstances, romantically involve himself with other males. Especially not lovable blonde ones. _But why not_? my mind whispered to me as I struggled with myself.

Roxas was my _friend_. One of my boys – a pal, no, more than that – a _partner in crime_.

I really **couldn't** deal with this. I just couldn't. I had to repress this emotion.

God, if Hayner hadn't walked in…

I really didn't want to think about it.

Ok, actually, I really really really _did_ want to think about it, but I was trying to repress that naughty part of myself.

Think happy thoughts.

Oh yeah, I forgot – those all involved Roxas.

Later I kicked open the door to my apartment and stormed grumpily in. Demyx glanced at me passingly from where he was cozied into the couch with a mild look of interest. He was used to my drastic mood swings by now. I recoiled as a notebook was thrown at me.

"What. The. Fuck. Demyx," I hissed, rubbing the sensitive spot on my shoulder where the notebook had hit.

"Kairi came by and wants you to take this to Riku when you have a chance. He left it in her room the other day," he explained, gesturing toward the notebook and turning back towards his computer.

"Why the hell doesn't she take it to him herself? Riku's _her_ boyfriend," I questioned testily.

"He wasn't home," Demyx explained, "He has tennis practice until seven and she had to go to a study session then."

"Oh. Well, ok then," I agreed wearily, "I guess I'll go over there. Maybe it will get her off my case for a while." I picked up the notebook and grumbled some more to myself about that bastard Riku (hey, a guy's got to pick on his little sister's boyfriend, am I right?). "And why was he in her room? They're too young for that stuff," I muttered as headed back out into the hall, and I caught Demyx rolling his eyes before I closed and locked the door behind me.

As I leisurely travelled down the hall and drew closer to 1305, the apartment Riku shared with his roommate Pence, I saw that the door was slightly ajar and that light was peeping through. I decided to just walk in unannounced and hopefully scare the bejeezus out of Riku. I peered through the crack between the door and the entranceway before making my grand entrance. Seeing no one in the living room, I quietly headed in and closed the door behind me.

Continuing onward, I walked stealthily towards Riku's room, side-stepping along the wall and ever-so-slightly peering into his bedroom through the very tiny crack of open space between the door and the doorframe–

What I saw was poison to my eyes.

GOOD GOD. WHAT THE MOTHER FUCKING FRAPPACINNO ON ICE?

Holy God up in heaven, forgive me for what I witnessed that day.

Normally nerdy-yet-cool, gaga-for-Kairi Riku was _holy-shit_ **all over** his new friend Sora. I stared, transfixed by the scene before me. Riku was ON TOP of Sora, ON HIS BED, engaged in some heavy duty mouth-to-mouth boy-on-boy action. Thank heaven they were still fully clothed, or I either would have died right there on the spot or thrown a shuriken through Riku's heart (no, I don't know where I would have gotten a shuriken, but Axel always makes it happen).

I felt sick when I noticed that Riku's glasses had been discarded onto the floor.

And then Riku's lips trailed s-l-o-w-l-y down onto Sora's neck, making the younger boy giggle.

I threw the door the rest of the way open furiously, slamming it against the wall, shouting, "MOTHER OF FRAPPACINNO. HOLY SHIT. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" I stomped into the room, kicked the door shut behind me, threw the notebook I was carrying onto the floor and pounced, grabbing Riku by the shirt collar (oh my damn the boy's clothes were _disheveled_) and shoving him up against the closed closet. "What the fuck do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Silver-haired-thinks-he's-badass-scholarly-academic-two-timer?! I come here to deliver your science notes and I walk in to find you studying –ahem- **chemistry** with someone who is _not_ my sister?!"

Riku paled as I glared at him, my eyes practically popping out of my head as I snarled, "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Listen – Axel – calm down – I'm sorry – I'll explain – Kairi –" Riku started, and was unexpectedly interrupted by Sora.

"Wait a minute, Riku – Who's Kairi? Riku, do you have a _girlfriend_?!" Sora exclaimed, hopping off the bed and looking expectantly at Riku, waiting for an answer.

"Holy shit, Riku, he doesn't know?" I exclaimed, my heart sinking when I saw Riku look shamefaced towards the ground, "Does _Kairi_ know?"

And I thought this day really couldn't get any worse. Axel is normally blessed with an excess of good luck. Axel gets everything he wants and his life goes smoothly because Axel is an arrogant, sexy, slick gentleman. But now Axel had to discover all in one day that he has an immense fascination that has exceeded mere curiosity and entered the realm of emotional and physical attraction to his new best friend and then had the lovely pleasure of walking in on his sister's boyfriend (who he will hate forever, by the way), glasses knocked off, clothes disheveled, practically _devouring_ another male of whom I really don't have a very high opinion.

Riku stood taller and looked me in the eye, grasping at my wrists, "Fuck off, Axel."

"No, _you_ fuck off, Riku. Now would you please kindly explain to me why exactly you are committing the severe transgression called adultery?" I asked, my voice loaded with false sweetness. He just looked at me defiantly and said nothing. "Ok, let me ask you one more time, Riku, and I'll say it simpler so even moron over here can understand," I commented, gesturing toward Sora. Anger flashed across Riku's face. Ok, so maybe calling Sora a moron was a little uncalled for, but my blood was boiling and I really couldn't think straight. I was _enraged_. "So, Riku, why the hell are you cheating on my little sister with Sora, who, correct me if I'm wrong, is male? Is there something you forgot to tell us when you started dating Kairi **two years ago**?"

"Listen, Axel, it's none of your business. I understand that you are an overprotective older brother, but you need to leave. In case you didn't notice, you're interrupting us," Riku stated calmly, attempting to remove my fists which were still clenched around the neck of his shirt.

"Hold on Riku, what makes you think I want to stay?" Sora questioned, speaking up again, "I just learned that you have a _girlfriend_ that I know nothing about, and you expect me to help you **cheat** on her? You're definitely in the wrong here, Riku."

"Riku, did you forget that the girl you're cheating on is my _sister_? Didn't I tell you that if you ever hurt a hair on her head I'd _kill you_?!" I inquired ferociously, disbelieving that Riku could so calmly refuse my questions "And Sora, you _are_ male, aren't you?"

"Uhh… yeah," Sora replied, blushing.

"Sora, you don't have to answer his idiotic questions, and Axel, let me go and get the hell out of my room," Riku declared coolly, giving up on trying to dislodge my fists which were currently bunched in his shirt around his shoulders.

"Listen, bastard– "

"Cool it, Axel," Sora tried to speak soothingly, "Calm down. Let's talk this out like good friends, ok?"

"Um, seems to me like you and Riku are a liiitttle bit more than good friends," I spat, trying to keep my rage it check and _not_ fling Riku out the window.

"Listen to me. If anyone should be punishing Riku, it should be – Kairi, was it?," he put a finger to his chin, trying to remember, "Anyways, don't worry, because I'm leaving. I guess – we can just pretend this never happened, alright?" he sighed, then picked up a textbook off of the floor and began to walk out the door.

"Sora – wait!" Riku exclaimed, shoving me away with renewed strength and breaking my grip. Dashing away from me, he called after Sora, "Don't go!" I followed, heading into the living room.

"Riku," Sora whispered from the entryway, smiling sadly with tears forming in his eyes, "I really love you, but I don't appreciate being cheated on. I'm sorry." With that final remark, Sora exited the room and dashed out the door and down the hall. Riku began to chase after him.

_He **loves** him?! WHAT is going on here?_

"Wait!" he called wildly, and would have probably caught up to Sora if I hadn't grabbed his arm and held him back before he could so much as touch the doorknob.

"You heard him, Riku. He's leaving," I lectured, "and I really don't blame him."

"What the hell do you know, Axel?" Riku shouted, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? You could have anyone! You don't know what it's like!" he tugged furiously at his hair, then calmed down, "Listen," he said quietly, "You don't understand what I feel for Sora. You really don't get it. All you ever do, Axel, is break the heart of girl after girl. You have no right to talk. Now leave or I swear – "

"Jesus, Riku, I get your point," I backed off, putting my hands in the air. I figured that I had already gone a little too far and if I stayed any longer I really couldn't guarantee the boy's safety. "Way to be cliché. You may not believe me, but… I kind of understand your situation. But, that does not, by any means, justify your actions. Now think about what you've done and be _fucking grateful_ that I refrained from killing you. You better clear things up with Kairi or I swear I'll be the one to do it." With that threat, I backed out of the apartment, pointing my index finger at him violently. The door was promptly slammed behind me, the lock clicking immediately in place.

I sighed and scratched my scalp, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on.

How would this end? _If he hurts Kairi I swear to God I'll make him pay_, I thought viciously. If there was one person I loved furiously in this world (but would never admit), it was my sister. I had a severe tendency to be overprotective due to my brotherly affections. Nobody would ever guess that I'd be a family kind of guy, but hey, people exceed expectations sometimes, now don't they?

Riku acted completely normal the next week. He went out on dates with Kairi and was sweet to her, as usual. The only thing that changed was that Sora was nowhere to be found and Riku had dark circles under and a sad look to his eyes.

Even more intriguing was the fact that Roxas wore the wristband I gave him every day.

_Every day_.

I have to admit, I felt pretty special when I noticed.

Ok, I felt really _really_ happy.

But my joy was only brought down by thoughts of Riku's dirty little secret. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure if I should tell Kairi or wait for her to find out for herself.

So I confided in Roxas one night online.

_Hey Roxas… I need some advice_, I typed.

_Yeah?_ he replied.

_You promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone? You know what'll happen if you do_, my virtual voice threatened.

_No shit_, Roxas replied. I could imagine him rolling his eyes at that comment.

Feisty. Did I mention that I absolutely loved Roxas when he was feisty?

_You know I won't tell, Ax_, he continued.

_Ok, well, here goes_, I began, _Remember that night you showed me those pants Larxene sent you?_

_…Yeah_, came his hesitant reply after a few too many seconds.

_Well… to make a long story short, later that day I caught Riku in the act of ADULTERY_, I gushed, eager to get to the point.

_…eh… WHAT? As in, cheating on your sister? You caught Riku with **another woman**?_ he exclaimed.

_It gets worse, Roxas…_ I continued with my story, ready to stun him with the next part, _Riku was cheating on Kairi with another **man**. To be precise, his idiotic friend Sora._

_WTF?! Riku and moron? _He questioned. Ok, good to know that I wasn't the only one who thought Sora was an idiot. Riku had on occasion brought him to our Friday Smash sessions, and everyone had slowly started accepting him, but… he really couldn't play Smash if his life depended on it. Plus he had a tendency to spout off some really cheesy lines about friendship and other such lovely topics. And he was just a _bit _of an airhead. But, I guess he wasn't that bad of a guy.

_Yeah, him. You're not going to believe this – he totally told Riku off and walked out_, I continued with my story,_ Which I appreciate and admire. At least he's more moral than that BASTARD Riku._

_What are you going to do, Ax?_ he typed back, _This is… serious_.

_I know. That's why I need your advice. What do you think I should do? I just can't let it go on like this – he's cheating on my little sister. I warned Riku to tell her ASAP, but he didn't listen.._ I should my head in frustration. _But I don't know if I should tell her or let her find out, or give Riku more time to break it to her._

_No matter what, this is going to end badly,_ Roxas replied calmly. He always talked straight with me… I liked that. He didn't try to say that it would turn out all right, because we all knew that wasn't possible. _But you have to tell Kairi. Riku obviously can't be trusted to do the right thing._

_Kairi_, I replied, my mind made up. _I have to tell her… she needs to know. Thanks, Roxas_. I stopped typing and smiled. Then, hesitantly, I added, _You're the best. Really._

_No problem, Axel._

I logged off, weary, filled with unease.

The next evening, after Demyx left (he had rehearsal every Monday night) I paced in our living room in front of the tv, phone in one hand and the other tugging at my hair. Sighing deeply, I paused, unlocked the phone and started typing furiously to two certain recipients:

First: _Kairi, we need to talk._

Second: _Sora, get your ass over here._

Kairi's response? _Hell no_. I cringed and replied: _I'm about to drop Riku's underwear out my window. I've written Riku loves Kairi all over them in Sharpie. Be here in fifteen minutes? 3_

_Asshole_, she texted back.

_Love you too!_ I teased.

Sora's text message, however, was a little less fierce: _I don't feel very well today… I'm kind of depressed right now. Sorry_.

My response? _I'm about to drop Riku's underwear out my window. I've written Riku loves Sora all over them in Sharpie. Be here in fifteen minutes?_

He quickly texted back, _K HOLD ON_

Works every time.

"LEAVE RIKU ALONE!" came the screech outside my door ten minutes later, "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"Welcome, my beloved and adorable yet extremely foul-mouthed little sister," I greeted her as I opened the door, "Please have a seat on the couch, wrap yourself in my blanket, and clutch my pillow. I believe you'll need something to squeeze after I tell you what I have to say, and it won't be me."

"What the hell do you want? And where is… Riku's… underwear…" her voice dropped to a whisper at that last part as she walked towards the couch, looking around suspiciously.

"To talk, I told you," I said seriously, and sat down on the coffee table. She sat on the couch in front of me, face to face. Kairi looked at warily and raised an eyebrow.

"_What_?" she asked rudely, picking up my favorite pillow like I told her to.

"Now, forgive me, because I'm going to be very blunt. I have to tell you some information that I found out. Kairi, you're my little sister and you know that I'd kill anyone who dares to endanger you and I love you and I'm sorry but I **have** to tell you and I - you're not going to like it but Rikuischeatingonyou." I rushed, suddenly nervous, questioning myself: _maybe this wasn't the right choice?_

"What?" Kairi asked, her face showing surprise, "What kind of crap are you spewing now Axel?" She stood up, furiously shoving the pillow into me, "I know you don't like Riku but I do and it's none of your damn business if I date him or not so just butt out!"

"Kairi," I said gravely, in a serious tone I don't ordinarily use. She looked down at me. "It's true. I would _never_ lie to you."

Emotion flickered across her features. I could tell that she was taking my statement into consideration, starting to doubt her own resolve that Riku just couldn't, just _wouldn't_ do that to her.

"Really?" she questioned weakly, her determination shattering, "How do you know?"

_Knock, knock. _We both turned towards the door. Right on time. I stood up and sighed as Kairi took back her position on the couch, this time really clutching my pillow.

"I know," I said as I opened the door, "because I walked in on Riku and Sora here," I pointed towards the brunette standing in the hallway, "studying… ahem… **chemistry**, if you know what I mean."

"Axel?" Sora questioned, looking up at me strangely from the entryway, "What's going on?"

"Sora," I gestured, "Meet Kairi, Riku's current girlfriend. Kairi, meet Sora, Riku's whatever the male equivalent of a mistress is."

"Holy shit," Kairi whispered, eyes welling up with tears, "It can't be true."

"I'm sorry," Sora said, staring at the ground ashamedly, "I didn't know he was in another relationship."

"Holy shit," she whispered again, the tears overflowing and falling down her cheeks. Her grip on the pillow tightened and her hands started shaking a bit.

"It's true," I said gently, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulder protectively.

"Sora didn't know anything… he's just a boy who really loves Riku," I continued, pulling Kairi closer. Sora gently closed the door so the outside world couldn't witness this scenario, then walked over and sat next to Kairi. He pulled a pack of tissues out of his back pocket, handing one to Kairi. "In fact, Sora left Riku when he found out. He doesn't appreciate being cheated on either."

"I can't believe it…" Kairi sobbed, "I thought Riku was… Riku was… different!" She closed her eyes and blew her nose.

I felt rage at Riku fill me – and pity. He had lost a great girl. I felt horrible that I had to be the one to deliver this terrible news. Kairi'd been cheated on once before, by her first love… Tidus.

I helped her burn every love letter he ever sent her.

I hoped she would never experience that pain again, but Riku… damn. He better have damn good reason and fucking love Sora, or I'd never forgive him. What am I saying? I could never forgive him, no matter what the reason.

A nose was blown loudly. Kairi and I looked up. Sora was bawling, clutching a pack of tissues in his hands. He furiously wiped his tears away as they fell.

"I'm sorry," he wailed, "I looooove Rikuuuuuuuuu. I love him so **much** it hurts." He continued to cry, increasing in intensity. Kairi and I looked at each other. A wave of pity for Sora struck me.

He really did care for Riku, who had been a backstabbing bastard to both him and my sister.

Kairi angled her body toward Sora and hugged him tightly. "I understand," she whispered, "I really do." She sniffed and scooched back a little, holding Sora's shoulders and looking at him. "Thank you, Sora, for telling me. And for standing up to Riku. It was very brave of you to do _both _things." Sora looked up at her and nodded weakly while blowing his nose. Kairi stood up and wiped at her eyes. She turned, walked to the door and put her hand on the knob, pausing before leaving.

"Kai… you can stay here, tonight, if you want to…" I started, glancing away from Sora.

Kairi smiled softly over her shoulder at me. "No, it's ok. Thank you, Axel. I think I need to be alone right now."

I bit at my lip worriedly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Kairi affirmed, nodding.

I stood and, taking the few strides I needed to get the door, scooped Kairi in for one last hug. She gripped me tightly. "Are you sure you don't want me to kill him? Or at least burn his underwear?" I breathed into her hair as she sobbed silently into my shoulder.

"Axel," she whispered weakly with finality, "Riku's… just not the boy for me, I guess. These last few weeks, he's been distant. He's also been… kinder… and happier. I guess now I know why. Please… leave him alone. I'll be… fine." With that, she let me go, stood on her tip-toes to peck me on the cheek, and turned and walked out the door. Quickly, I thrust my head out the door and called after her, "Text me later, ok?" Without turning back, she nodded and waved at me over her shoulder.

I drew a shaky breath as I closed the door behind her, deeply unsettled for the first time in a long time.

Damn. What a mess.

I went back to my room, finding a distressed and still-weeping Sora. I patted him on the head. I suddenly had a very big-brother feeling. Since when am I so damn empathetic?!

"How… are you?" I asked awkwardly, unsure what to say.

"Shitty," Sora said bluntly, blowing his nose and wiping his eyes.

"Y'know…" I punched Sora in the shoulder playfully, "Kairi was right. You were pretty cool when you walked out on Riku." Damn. Complimenting people other than myself again? "Kairi may act like a brat sometimes but… she's kind and considerate. And trust me, after two years, she knows Riku. If she said you made him happy, then you must've." I sighed again and rubbed the back of my head. "What am I even saying. Do _you _want me to beat him up?"

"Thanks, Axel, but that's ok," Sora said, standing up and sighing, "I'm going to go talk to Riku. We need to straighten this whole… situation… out."

I patted him on the back gently as he, too, headed for my door.

Before he walked out, however, he turned around, saying "Um… Axel? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I responded quietly.

He blew his nose one more time and wiped away some stray tears, straightening up and looking at me bravely, "Where's Riku's underwear?"

I started laughing, so hard I doubled over and had to lean on the wall for support. "Don't worry," I wheezed in between chuckles, "His underwear are safe in his drawer."

He cracked a small smile and walked off.


End file.
